What’s in a title, a name or even traditional and official designations for that matter?
It seems that this has caused enough “headaches” to a former Samoan Head of State and the Samoa Government that it has now decided to formalize the official honorific for the Head of State.
And the selected honourific is the traditional one: Lau Afioga i le Ao Mamalu o le Malo.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said during hsi weekly press conference that a former Head of State was concerned that there did not seem to be a uniform official honorific for the position of Head of State.
Apparently official correspondence addressed the Head of State as, Your Excellency, Your Highness and other forms of honorariums, particularly in the formal presentation of diplomatic credentials.
Tuilaepa explained, “So just like when we dropped Western from Western Samoa to make our country name Samoa, we will be referring to our head of State in the Samoan traditional honorific of Lau Afioga i le Ao Mamalu o le Malo.”
He said other countries use their traditional honorific in their own languages to address their leaders so Samoa will do the same.
Tuilaepa said the formal process is being worked on and soon all will address the Head of State in the formal traditional Samoan way.
