| Honorific-Prefix: | The Honourable Susuga |
| Office4: | Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Scientific Research |
| Primeminister4: | Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa |
| Term Start4: | 24 May 2021 |
| Predecessor4: | Lopao'o Natanielu Mua |
| Primeminister5: | Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi |
| Term Start5: | 19 March 2016 |
| Term End5: | 22 August 2017 |
| Predecessor5: | Le Mamea Ropati |
| Successor5: | Lopao'o Natanielu Mua |
| Office6: | Deputy Leader of Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi |
| Leader6: | Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa |
| Term Start6: | 9 March 2021 |
| Predecessor6: | Olo Fiti Vaai |
| Office7: | Leader of Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi |
| Deputy7: | Olo Fiti Vaai[1] |
| Term Start7: | 30 July 2020 |
| Term End7: | 9 March 2021 |
| Predecessor7: | Position Established |
| Successor7: | Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa |
| Office8: | Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa |
| Term Start8: | 18 March 2011 |
| Term End8: | 16 March 2016 |
| Predecessor8: | Tolofuaivalelei Falemoe Lei’ataua |
| Successor8: | Toleafoa Faafisi |
| Constituency Mp9: | Gagaʻifomauga No. 3 |
| Parliament9: | Samoan |
| Term Start9: | 31 March 2006 |
| Predecessor9: | Vagana Peleiʻupu Tamate |
| Birth Name: | Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt |
| Party: | Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (since 2020) |
| Otherparty: | Human Rights Protection Party (until 2020) |
Susuga Laʻaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt[2] [3] is a Samoan politician, businessman, Cabinet Minister, and former speaker and deputy speaker of the Samoan Parliament.[4] He is the Member of Parliament for the Gagaʻifomauga No. 3 constituency and is the founder and chairman of the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party.[5] [6]
Schmidt is the son of former Government Minister and founding member of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) Polataivao Fosi Schmidt.[7] He was first elected to the Fono as a candidate for the HRPP in the March 2006 elections. From 2006 to 2011 he served as Deputy Speaker. He was re-elected at the 2011 election and served as Speaker from 2011 to 2016.[8] He was again re-elected at the 2016 election and appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Scientific Research.[9] He subsequently served as acting Prime Minister.
In August 2017, Schmidt resigned as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and remained Member of Parliament as he had a lengthy legal battle with HRPP MP Peseta Vaifou Tevaga.[10] He was subsequently charged with more than a hundred counts of forgery and theft.[11] He was acquitted of all charges in June 2020.[12]
In May 2020 he was sacked from the HRPP by Prime Minister Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi after voting against proposed constitutional amendments.[13] He subsequently announced he had resigned from the HRPP and that he would be forming a new political party to contest the 2021 election.[14] [15]
On 30 June 2020, the Parliamentary Privileges and Ethics Committee found that Schmidt had misled Parliament over the disputed price of a generator during a debate and recommended that he be suspended from Parliament for three months without pay.[16] [17] Schmidt apologised to the House and verbally resigned his seat.[18] After some initial doubt, the verbal resignation was deemed to be effective, and a by-election was called.
On 30 July Schmidt registered the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party to contest in the 2021 Elections.[19] He ran as a candidate for the party in the 2020 Gagaifomauga No. 3 byelection[20] and was successfully re-elected.[21] [22] [23]
Schmidt was re-elected in the 2021 Samoan general election. On 24 May 2021 he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in the elected cabinet of Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa.[24] The appointment was disputed by the caretaker government. On 23 July 2021 the Court of Appeal ruled that the swearing-in ceremony was constitutional and binding, and that FAST had been the government since 24 May.[25] [26] [27]
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