Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II

Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, born April 29, 1947, in Western Samoa, has served as O le Ao o le Malo, Samoa's head of state, since July 21, 2017, succeeding Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, and had his term extended for a further five years in August 2022; the office is elected by the Legislative Assembly and functions much like a ceremonial presidency, acting mostly on the Prime Minister's advice while retaining reserve powers such as dissolving parliament and granting royal assent. He received the Tuimalealiifano title, one of Samoa's four paramount chiefly titles, in July 1977, and before his tenure as head of state worked variously as a policeman, lawyer, police chief inspector, secondary school teacher, public defender, public trustee and barrister and solicitor in Samoa's Supreme Court, alongside service on the Council of Deputies from 1993 to 2001 and again from 2004 onward.