Court clears way for Samoa to get its first woman leader

Samoa appears set to get its first woman leader after the nation’s top court on Monday reinstated the results of a knife-edge election last month

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- Samoa appeared set to get its first woman leader after the nation's top court on Monday reinstated the results of a knife-edge election last month. Two decisions by the Supreme Court have paved the way for Fiame Naomi Mata’afa to become prime minister of the small island nation. Her ascent represents a significant milestone not only for Samoa but for the broader South Pacific region, where there have been few women leaders. Like many of its neighbors, Samoa tends to be conservative, strongly Christian and deeply traditional. An advocate for women's equality, Fiame, who was born in 1957, broke new ground during her campaign by going on the road and robustly criticizing the incumbent, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who had been in power for 22 years.