Anapu Solofa

{{Infobox officeholder | name = Anapu Solofa | image = Anapu Solofa.jpg

| office = Minister of Justice | term = 1959–1963 | successor = Fiame Mata'afa

| office2 = Member of the Legislative Assembly | term3 = 1957–1963 | constituency3 = Safata

| term2 = 1951–1954 | constituency2 = Tuamasaga South

| birth_date = 12 January 1903 | birth_place = | death_date = May 1963 | death_place = }}

'''Anapu Solofa''' (12 January 1903 – May 1963) was a Western Samoan chief and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly and as Minister of Justice.

==Biography== Born on 12 January 1903, in Sa’anapu, Upolu, the son of Anapu Tui’i (Sa’anapu) and Fa’ao Anae (Falelatai), Solofa was given the chiefly title Anapu in 1916 at the age of 13.<ref name=M322>Lauofo Meti (2002) ''Samoa: The Making of the Constitution'', p322</ref> In 1924 he became the first head boy of the new Avele College.<ref>"Avele honours the past", ''Samoa Times'', 4 June 2014</ref> He was a member of the anti-colonial Mau movement and the Speaker of the Fono of Faipule.<ref name=M322/><ref>[https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-370006876/view?sectionId=nla.obj-372910471&partId=nla.obj-370166696#page/n78/mode/1up W. Samoan Representatives For SPC Conference] ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1950, p77</ref> In 1937 he became an assessor in the High Court.<ref>[https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-313207971/view?sectionId=nla.obj-328849181&partId=nla.obj-313210722#page/n19/mode/1up Samoan Chiefs Sworn In For High Court Bench] ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1937, p16</ref>

Solofa was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 1951 elections, winning the Tuamasaga South constituency.<ref>Meti, p29</ref> He lost his seat in the 1954 elections, but later participated in the 1954 constitutional convention. He returned to the Legislative Assembly following the 1957 elections as the representative of Safata and became a member of the Executive Council.<ref name=M322/> When cabinet government was introduced in 1959, he was appointed Minister of Justice.<ref>Meti, p48</ref>

As a member of the Legislative Assembly, Solofa participated in the 1960 constitutional convention and was one of the signatories of the constitution.<ref>[https://www.cbs.gov.ws/index.php/dmsdocument/4336 Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa] Government of Samoa</ref> Following the 1961 elections, he remained Minister of Justice in the government led by Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II.<ref>[https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-322674443/view?partId=nla.obj-323244975#page/n21/mode/1up Samoa Picks A "Vital" Cabinet] ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', March 1961, p20</ref>

He died of a heart attack at a church conference in May 1963.<ref>[https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-324736548/view?partId=nla.obj-324802933#page/n138/mode/1up Hon. Anapu Solofa] ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', June 1963, p137</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solofa, Anapu}} Category:1903 births Category:Samoan chiefs Category:Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Category:Government ministers of Samoa Category:1963 deaths