# Tuilaepa becomes Prime Minister (23 November 1998)

URL: https://allhistories.com/samoa/timeline/1998-tuilaepa-becomes-prime-minister
Location: Apia, Samoa
Themes: ruler-change

Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi became Prime Minister of Samoa on 23 November 1998, after Tofilau Eti Alesana resigned because of ill health. Tofilau had led the Human Rights Protection Party and held office from 1988, and Wikipedia says he stayed on as a minister until his death on 19 March 1999. Tuilaʻepa also took over leadership of the governing party. He first entered Parliament in a 1981 by-election for the Lepā seat and led the party to victory in 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016. Wikipedia gives the end of his term as 24 May 2021, though a footnote says power was not handed over until July 2021. In 2012 he became the longest-serving prime minister in Samoan history. His tenure saw the switch to left-hand driving, the date line change and a 2017 amendment declaring Samoa a Christian nation, and it ended in the 2021 constitutional crisis, which is covered in a later period. At this point in the timeline (1998), Malietoa Tanumafili II (1 Jan 1962 – 11 May 2007) was O le Ao o le Malo, the head of state of independent Samoa, whose executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet; Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi (23 Nov 1998 – 24 May 2021) led the government.

## Why it matters
The handover began the longest premiership in Samoan history, a period of political continuity and reform that the 2021 crisis ended.

Ruler at the Time: [Malietoa Tanumafili II](https://allhistories.com/samoa/rulers/malietoa-tanumafili-ii-1962)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuilaepa_Sailele_Malielegaoi)
- [Wikipedia — Tofilau Eti Alesana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tofilau_Eti_Alesana)
- [Wikipedia — Human Rights Protection Party](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Protection_Party)