Western Samoa is an island nation of 157,700 people in the South Pacific about 2,300 miles southwest of Hawaii. Independence was achieved in January 1962 after Samoans exercised their right to self-determination in a plebiscite and the United Nations General Assembly voted to terminate New Zealand's trusteeship. Western Samoa joined the British Commonwealth in 1970 and the United Nations in 1976.

The constitution establishes a modified Westminster form of government. The position of head of state is largely ceremonial and was jointly occupied at independence by the holders of two of Samoa's four highest traditional titles. One of these title holders, Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole, died in 1963. When the remaining incumbent, Malietoa Tanumafili II, dies, the constitution requires future heads of state to be elected by the Legislative Assembly for five-year terms. A Council of Deputies acts for the head of state in the event of his absence or incapacity. The prime minister is elected by Parliament from among its members. He, in turn, selects eight members of Parliament to be ministers in the cabinet over which he presides. The cabinet is collectively responsible to Parliament.

The head of state, together with the Legislative Assembly, compose the Parliament. The Assembly has forty-nine members, of which forty-seven are traditional title holders, or matai. Until 1990, Assembly members were elected by their peers (matai suffrage) in forty-one constituencies; two members from each of the six largest constituencies and one from each of the remainder. The matai titles are traditionally bestowed by extended family groups, or aiga, and there are about 20,000 people currently on the matai roll. Prior to the 1991 general election, constitutional changes were introduced following a plebiscite the year before which indicated broad support for universal suffrage of citizens twenty-one years or older. However, Assembly representatives are still restricted to matai title holders. The remaining two members of the Assembly are elected by citizens who are part-Samoan, of other races, or otherwise not members of an aiga. All terms of office are for five years.

The judicial function is fulfilled by the Supreme Court, which is the superior court of record and has full jurisdiction in civil, criminal, and constitutional matters. A Court of Appeal and a Magistrate's Court have also been established and a Land and Titles Court is empowered to hear disputes over customary land and succession to matai titles.

Western Samoa's politics has been fairly stormy in recent years. A three-month-long strike by public servants over wage rates in 1981 was divisive and put much pressure on the government of then Prime Minister Tupuola Efi, during his second term of office. This marked the beginning of a period of unusual political instability as successive governments managed to hold office only for short periods. Efi was defeated by the leader of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), Va'ai Kolone, by one vote in the contest for prime minister after the elections of February 1982. However, Kolone's victory was soon soured when the Supreme Court upheld a petition alleging electoral irregularities and declared his election invalid. In one of a series of controversial decisions, the head of state did not call for fresh elections, but instead appointed Tupuola Efi to replace the unseated Kolone as prime minister. But Efi survived for only a few months before being forced to resign after his budget failed to win support. Tofilau Eti Alesana won the subsequent parliamentary vote for prime minister and was confirmed in office after the general election of February 1985. But, in December 1985, he resigned when ex-Prime Ministers and former opponents, Kolone and Efi, joined forces to command the majority in Parliament and the head of state refused Alesana's request to call an early election. In 1988 outgoing Prime Minister Kolone lost a narrow election bid to Tofilau Eti Alesana and the HRPP. Meanwhile, Tamasese Efi quickly organized the loose coalition of minor opposition matai into a single political party called the Samoa Nationa Development Party (SNDP). Arguing that wider suffrage could decrease the amount of corruption in election campaigns, non-title holding Western Samoans went to the polls for the first time in 1991. After much anticipation as to the impact of the first general election under universal suffrage to Western Samoan politics, Tofilau Eti Alesana and the HRPP were returned for a fourth term in office. This outcome -- more so than anything else -- illustrates that, given the absence of any clearly defined political ideology, politics in Western Samoa will remain bound by personality ties and political expediency.

Agriculture forms the basis for Western Samoa's economy. It has been largely of subsistance type, with little money accruing to the aberage Samoan farmer. Today, the three major cash crops are coconut, cocoa, and taro; together with timber and tropical fruits these constitute the main exports. In the early 1990s, two highly descructive cyclones hit Western Samoa, destroying many agricultural crops, seriously undermining economic growth and threatened the financial stability of this small island nation.