American Samoa Government - 2024

Country name

conventional long form: American Samoa

conventional short form: American Samoa

former: Eastern Samoa

abbreviation: AS

etymology: the meaning of Samoa is disputed; some modern explanations are that the "sa" connotes  "sacred" and "moa" indicates "center," so the name can mean "Holy Center"; alternatively, some assertions state that it can mean "place of the sacred moa bird" of Polynesian mythology; the name, however, may go back to Proto-Polynesian (PPn) times (before 1000 B.C.); a plausible PPn reconstruction has the first syllable as "sa'a" meaning "tribe or people" and "moa" meaning "deep sea or ocean" to convey the meaning "people of the deep sea"

Government type

unincorporated, unorganized Territory of the US with local self-government; republican form of territorial government with separate executive, legislative, and judicial branches

Dependency status

unincorporated, unorganized Territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior

Capital

name: Pago Pago

geographic coordinates: 14 16 S, 170 42 W

time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

note: pronounced pahn-go pahn-go

Administrative divisions

none (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 3 districts and 2 islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western

Independence

none (territory of the US)

National holiday

Flag Day, 17 April (1900)

Constitution

history: adopted 17 October 1960; revised 1 July 1967

amendments: proposed by either house of the Legislative Assembly; passage requires three-fifths majority vote by the membership of each house, approval by simple majority vote in a referendum, approval by the US Secretary of the Interior, and only by an act of the US Congress; amended several times, last in 2021

Legal system

mixed legal system of US common law and customary law

Citizenship

see United States
Note: in accordance with US Code Title 8, Section 1408, persons born in American Samoa are US nationals but not US citizens

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: President Joseph R. BIDEN Jr. (since 20 January 2021); Vice President Kamala D. HARRIS (since 20 January 2021)

head of government: Governor Lemanu Peleti MAUGA (since 3 January 2021)

cabinet: Cabinet consists of 12 department directors appointed by the governor with the consent of the Legislature or Fono

elections/appointments: president and vice president indirectly elected on the same ballot by an Electoral College of 'electors' chosen from each state to serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); under the US Constitution, residents of unincorporated territories, such as American Samoa, do not vote in elections for US president and vice president; however, they may vote in Democratic and Republican presidential primary elections; governor and lieutenant governor directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2024)

election results:
Lemanu Peleti MAUGA elected governor in first round; percent of vote - Lemanu Peleti MAUGA (independent) 60.3%, Gaoteote Palaie TOFAU (independent) 21.9%, I'aulualo Fa'afetai TALIA (independent) 12.3%

Legislative branch

description: bicameral Legislature or Fono consists of:
Senate (18 seats; members indirectly selected by regional governing councils to serve 4-year terms)
House of Representatives (21 seats; 20 members in single- and multi-seat constituencies directly elected by simple majority popular vote and 1 decided by public meeting on Swains Island; members serve 2-year terms)

elections: Senate - last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2024)
House of Representatives - last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held on 5 November 2024)

election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independent 18; composition - men 17, women 1; percent of women 5.6%
House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 20, women 1; percent of women 4.8%; note - total Legislature percent of women 5.1%

note: American Samoa elects 1 member by simple majority popular vote to serve a 2-year term as a delegate to the US House of Representatives; the delegate can vote when serving on a committee and when the House meets as the Committee of the Whole House, but not when legislation is submitted for a “full floor” House vote; election of delegate last held on 3 November 2020 (next to be held in November 2022); Amata Coleman RADEWAGEN elected delegate; Amata Coleman RADEWAGEN (Republican Party) 83.5%, Oreta CHRICHTON (Democratic Party) 14.4%, Meleagi SUITONU-CHAPMAN (Democratic Party) 2.1%

Judicial branch

highest court(s): High Court of American Samoa (consists of the chief justice, associate chief justice, and 6 Samoan associate judges and organized into trial, family, drug, and appellate divisions); note - American Samoa has no US federal courts

judge selection and term of office: chief justice and associate chief justice appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior to serve for life; Samoan associate judges appointed by the governor to serve for life

subordinate courts: district and village courts

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Party [T'ia REID, chairman]
Republican Party [Taulapapa William SWORD, chairman]

International organization participation

AOSIS (observer), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, PIF (observer), SPC

Diplomatic representation in the US

none (territory of the US)

Diplomatic representation from the US

embassy: none (territory of the US)

Flag description

a large white triangle edged in red that is based on the fly side and extends to the hoist side and is charged with an eagle, all on a blue field; the red, white, and blue colors are those traditionally used by both the United States and Samoa; the brown and white American bald eagle flies toward the hoist side and carries 2 traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a war club known as a "fa'alaufa'i" (upper; left talon), and a coconut-fiber fly whisk known as a "fue" (lower; right talon); the combination of symbols broadly mimics that seen on the US Great Seal and reflects the relationship between the US and American Samoa

National symbol(s)

a fue (coconut fiber fly whisk; representing wisdom) crossed with a to'oto'o (staff; representing authority); national colors: red, white, blue

National anthem

name: "Amerika Samoa" (American Samoa)

lyrics/music: Mariota Tiumalu TUIASOSOPO/Napoleon Andrew TUITELELEAPAGA

note: local anthem adopted 1950; as a territory of the United States, "The Star-Spangled Banner" is official (see United States)