GOVERNMENT PRESS SECRETARIAT; Cabinet has upheld the recommendation from the Selection Panel to appoint Savalenoa Mareva Betham Annandale as the new Attorney General.

Six applicants all qualified lawyers including Savalenoa had applied for the post.

A holder of a Bachelor of Law, Savalenoa brings over 20 years of valuable experience in the private and public sectors in the legal profession.

She worked with the Office of the Attorney General for over a decade before appointed as Assistant Chief Executive Officer for Legal, Policy, and Censorship with the Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration. In that capacity, she played a leading role in the Law and Justice Sector reforms which include Policy and Development for the Digitization Project and MJCA’s Media Services.

A partner in the Annandale and Betham Law Firm, she is also a former President of the Samoa Law Society.

Prior to working for Government, Savalenoa’s career started overseas with the New Zealand Department of Corrections and the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs as well as that country’s High Commissioner’s Office in South Africa.

She succeeds Lemalu Herman Retzlaff who resigned recently to pursue new opportunities overseas.

Her contract is for three years