List of colonial governors of Samoa

Colonial governor of Samoa
Longest serving
Wilhelm Heinrich Solf
1 March 1900–19 December 1911
German Samoa
Formation1 March 1900
First holderWilhelm Heinrich Solf
Final holderJack Wright
Abolished31 December 1961
SuccessionO le Ao o le Malo
Hoisting the German flag at Mulinu'u, Upolu on 1 March 1900.
Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Samoan Islands (bordered in red), 1905.
The German colonial empire in the Pacific Ocean. German Samoa is shown in red.
Hoisting the Union Jack at Apia, Upolu on 30 August 1914.
Flag of the governor of the Western Samoa Trust Territory.
League of Nations mandates in the Pacific Ocean. The Western Samoa Trust Territory (bordered in yellow) is number 4.

This article lists the colonial governors of Samoa (or Western Samoa), from the establishment of German Samoa in 1900 until the independence of the Western Samoa Trust Territory in 1962.

List

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)

Tenure Portrait Incumbent Notes
In 1900, according to the Tripartite Convention and following the Second Samoan Civil War, the Samoan Islands were annexed by the German Empire, except for the part that is to become American Samoa.[1]
Wilhelm II, the German Emperor, is styled "Tupu Sili o Samoa" ("Paramount King of Samoa").[2]
Governors of German Samoa (1900–1914)
1 March 1900 to 19 December 1911 Wilhelm Heinrich Solf Afterwards served as the Secretary of State in the Reichskolonialamt, from 1911 to 1918
19 December 1911 to 29 August 1914 Erich Schultz-Ewerth Acting to 19 June 1912
In 1914, as part of the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I, an expeditionary force from the Dominion of New Zealand called the Samoa Expeditionary Force (SEF) captured and occupied the territory. In 1920, the territory was turned into a League of Nations mandate, administered by New Zealand. In 1946, the mandate was reformed as a United Nations trust territory and continued to be administered by New Zealand.
Administrators of Western Samoa (1914–1948)
29 August 1914 to 28 January 1919 Colonel Robert Logan
28 January 1919 to 16 March 1923 Colonel Robert Ward Tate
16 March 1923 to 8 April 1928 George Spafford Richardson From 3 June 1925, Sir George Spafford Richardson
5 May 1928 to 3 April 1931 Stephen Allen
18 April 1931 to 25 July 1935 Herbert Ernest Hart
25 July 1935 to 28 February 1946 Alfred Turnbull From 1942, Sir Alfred Clarke Turnbull; acting to 1943
March 1946 to 10 March 1948 Francis William Voelcker
High Commissioners of Western Samoa (1948–1961)
10 March 1948 to 23 February 1949 Francis William Voelcker
1 March 1949 to 2 April 1960 Guy Powles
2 April 1960 to 31 December 1961 Jack Wright Acting to June 1960

On 1 January 1962, Western Samoa achieved independence following the passage of the 1961 referendum. For a list of heads of state after independence, see O le Ao o le Malo.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ryden, The Foreign Policy of the United States in Relation to Samoa, p. 574; Great Britain vacated all claims to Samoa and accepted as quid pro quo termination of German rights in Tonga and certain areas in the Solomon Islands and in West Africa.
  2. ^ (in German) Horst Gründer: Geschichte der deutschen Kolonien, 4. Aufl., Ferdinand Schöningh, Paderborn 2000, S. 183