Misa Telefoni Retzlaff

Who is Misa Telefoni Retzlaff?

Misa Telefoni Reztlaff was born on May 21, 1952. He is a former Samoan Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy leader of the Human Rights Protection Party. Retzlaff was educated at King's College in Auckland, New Zealand. He studied law at the University of Auckland before going on to practice law in Samoa. He was appointed Attorney-General of Samoa in 1986. In 1988 he resigned his position as Attorney-General to run for election, winning the seat of Falelatai and Samatau. Initially part of the opposition, he joined the government of Tofilau Eti Alesana in 1991 as Minister of Agriculture, Forests, Fisheries and shipping. In 1996, he became Minister of Health and in 2001, Deputy Prime Minister. In addition to that role, he currently holds the portfolios of Commerce, Industry and Labour. He has stated he will not be standing to retain the seat he has held for 22 years in the 2011 general election.

Retzlaff is o German-Swedish-Samoan descent, having inherited his German ancestry from his paternal grandfather. His name “Telefoni”, is the name that was given by the Samoan community in the early twentieth century, to his grandfather, when he arrived in the German colony, as a public servant of the postal services, to introduce the telephone to the country. He has had two books published; “Love and Money”, a love story about the richest young bachelor in Auckland New Zealand falling in love with and marrying the young Samoan kitchen help from his exclusive boarding school; and “To Thine Own Self be True”, speeches and poems. In February 2011, Telefoni confirmed he was retiring from politics at the 2011 election. See a short tribute to Misa Telefoni published in the Samoa Observer 9 March 2011, by his son Lemalu Hermann Paul Retzlaff.