Brenda Heather-Latu

Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu (born 23 December 1961) is a New Zealand-born Samoan lawyer and a former Attorney General of Samoa.[1] She was the first New Zealand-born Samoan to head a Government department in Apia.[2][3]

Heather-Latu was born in Wellington, New Zealand. She completed degrees in arts and law at Victoria University of Wellington in 1985,1986 and was admitted to the bar as a barrister and solicitor in February 1987 in Wellington, New Zealand.[1] She worked in the Crown Law Office (New Zealand Attorney General's office) from 1988 until 1996, first as a Crown Counsel Assistant, followed by her appointment as a Crown Counsel in 1991. In 1996 she resigned and moved to Apia, Samoa to take up a position under the New Zealand Staffing Assistance Scheme, to assist the Samoa Attorney General.[2] Heather-Latu then served as Attorney General of Samoa for 9 1/2 years during three consecutive terms, (from 3 May 1997 until December 2006), making her the longest serving holder of that office to date .[4][5]

Heather-Latu attended Clyde Quay School in Mt Victoria in Wellington (1967-1974) and Wellington Girls' College in Thorndon (1975-1979) and attended the Executive Program ‘Leaders in Development’ at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 2002 whilst serving as Attorney-General, and was sponsored by the New Zealand Government (whose Prime Minister at the time was the Rt Hon. Helen Clark) and the Council of Women World Leaders.

Heather-Latu and her husband George Latu are partners in their family law firm Latu Lawyers in Apia.[1] They have two children: Malaki, who is a graduate of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and works as a civil engineer in Brisbane, Australia, and Yasmina who is currently a university student. Heather-Latu (born Brenda Patricia Heather) is the eldest daughter of (the late) Cuthbert Stanley Heather and Winnie Tauaneai Heather (née Anesi) who both migrated to New Zealand in 1959 from Samoa. Her siblings are (the late) Xemos Elton Kruse Heather, and Dr Maryann Nanette Anesi Heather who is a specialist General Practitioner practising in Auckland, New Zealand.

Heather-Latu also serves as Chair of the Pacific Leadership Foundation, which runs the four yearly Emerging Pacific Leaders Dialogue ‘EPLD’ (which was first held in 2006), and is a regional programme (developed by Commonwealth Study Conferences ‘CSC’ of Australia and New Zealand in 2005) which seeks to enhance the leadership skills of Pacific men and women in order to build a group of alumni throughout the region who support shared values such as ethical, transparent and effective leadership which aims to benefit the communities they serve in a fair, balanced and inclusive manner.

Heather-Latu was bestowed the chiefly title of ‘Taulapapa’ in 2015, which is a traditional Samoan title from the village of Fogapoa in the district of Safotulafai, Fa’asaleleaga, which is located on the island of Savai’i, Samoa. Her grandfather (the late Taulapapa Dr Anesi Malaefou MBE) held the title and her mother’s brother: Taulapapa Dr Aloiamoa Anesi has held the same title since 1986.

She also has blood ties to the villages of : Iva, Faleasi’u, Falealili, Leulumoega, Papa-Sataua, Sapapali’i, Apia and Manono, and through her fathers ancestor Selepa McCarthy has links to Ireland, Germany and the village of Vaie’e, and in turn through her husband Stanley Heather, has family links to the Heather family in England and New Zealand ; the Heather family of Arorangi village in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, and through Stanley’s mother Unaiki Mahanga, to the captains of two waka (canoe) which brought tagata whenua to Aotearoa : the Aotea and Tainui. Her mother’s ancestor was John Herbert Penn who was born in Staffordshire, England and migrated to Stratford, New Zealand before settling in Samoa and marrying Mele Sooaemalelagi, Heather-Latu’s great great grandmother.

Heather-Latu was appointed a Director of Habitat for Humanity (New Zealand) in November 2018

Heather -Latu is a serving Judicial Officer for World Rugby. She is also the Honorary Consul for Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Samoa.[6][7]

References
  1. "Brenda Heather-Latu". SAMOAN BIOS. 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  2. "Samoans look for easier entry to New Zealand". NZ Herald. 4 August 2004. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  3. "Le tamaitai loia o Brenda Heather Latu i le ogatotonu ma le afioga ia Lemalu Sina Retzlaff Lima". Samoa Times. 24 April 2012.
  4. "Samoa's attorney general and assistant attorney general both resign". Radio New Zealand. 26 August 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  5. Heather-Latu, Brenda. "Mending the Nets" (PDF). Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  6. "Emerging Pacific Leaders Dialogue 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  7. "Overseas Honorary Consuls in Samoa - Samoa Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Samoa Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
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