Matatumua Maimoana

Matatumua Maimoana (1935–2012), also known as Matatumua Maimoaga Vermeulen, was a matai, Stateswoman, Nurse and Environmentalist of Samoa. Her chief title, Matatumua, was an orator's title from the village of Faleasiu. She was a former member of parliament in Samoa and the founder of the Samoa All People's Party (SAPP), becoming the first woman to lead a political party in the country. SAPP allowed people as young as 16, regardless of gender or whether they were matai to be officers in the organisation which included village branches. She was a founding member of the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which has dominated Samoan politics in the last two decades.

Matatumua was a former Superintendent of Nursing who was instrumental in the founding and development of the Samoa School of Nursing. She was an active member of the Samoa Public Service Association (PSA) during the 1981 PSA General Strike which brought down the government of Tupuola Efi. She was involved in environmental issues and is currently a board member of Matuaileo'o Environmental Trust (METI).

Matatumua was the daughter of Le Mamea Matatumua Ata and was married to Dr. Walter Vermeulen. Her older sister Laulu Fetauimalemau Mata'afa was also a chief and a politician who was the wife of paramount chief Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu’u II, the first Prime Minister of Samoa. Another sister Eni was also a founding member of HRPP and the wife of politician Aiono Nonumalo Sofara who left HRPP in 1993 and subsequently formed the Samoa Democratic Party.

...
Wikipedia