Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster | |
---|---|
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment | |
Assumed office 20 October 2021 | |
Prime Minister | Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa |
Preceded by | Fiamē Naomi Mata‘afa |
In office 24 May 2021 – 3 June 2021 | |
Prime Minister | Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa |
Preceded by | Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi |
Succeeded by | Fiamē Naomi Mata‘afa |
Minister of Tourism | |
In office 20 October 2021 – 1 October 2023 | |
Prime Minister | Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa |
Preceded by | Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa |
Succeeded by | Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa |
Member of the Samoan Parliament | |
Assumed office 9 April 2021 | |
Preceded by | Constituency established |
Constituency | Aʻana Alofi No. 4 |
In office 4 March 2011 – 4 March 2016 | |
Preceded by | Vaeolenofoafia Tapasu |
Succeeded by | Afamasaga Rico Tupai |
Constituency | Aʻana Alofi No. 3 |
Personal details | |
Political party | FAST (since 2021) |
Other political affiliations | Tautua Samoa Party (until 2021) |
Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster is a Samoan environmentalist, politician and Cabinet Minister. He is a member of the FAST Party.[1]
Schuster is from the village of Satapuala.[2] He was educated at the University of Victoria and at Brandeis University in the United States.[2] He has previously worked for the World Wide Fund for Nature,[3] the Samoan government's Division of Environment and Conservation, Seacology, and as an environmental consultant.[2] Schuster is the cousin of Lefau Harry Schuster[4] and the father of swimmer Brandon Schuster.[5]
Schuster was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Samoa at the 2011 Samoan general election, as a candidate for the Tautua Samoa Party.[4] In August 2012 he took part in a roadblock in his village of Satapuala which sought to block access to land the village was claiming.[6][7] He was subsequently charged with unlawful assembly and obstruction.[8] in August 2013 he was convicted of unlawful assembly, resisting police, obstruction and using foul language and fined US$635.[9] He subsequently apologised to Parliament for the incident.[10]
In April 2014, Schuster became the first Samoan MP to join International Parliamentarians for West Papua.[3]
He lost his seat at the 2016 election.[1]
In October 2020 Schuster announced he would stand as a candidate for the F.A.S.T. Party in the April 2021 election.[1] He was elected.[5] On 24 May 2021 he was appointed Minister of Natural Resources and Environment in the elected cabinet of Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa.[11] The appointment was disputed by the caretaker government. On 23 July 2021 the Court of Appeal ruled that the swearing-in ceremony was constitutional and binding, and that FAST had been the government since 24 May.[12]
On 1 June 2021, while returning from FAST's first-anniversary celebration, Schuster was arrested for drunk-driving.[13] On 3 June he resigned his portfolio, which was later reassigned to prime minister Fiamē Naomi Mata‘afa.[14][15] On 20 July he pleaded guilty to three traffic offences and applied for a discharge without conviction.[16] On 15 October 2021 he was fined $2,000 and discharged without conviction.[17] He returned to Cabinet on 20 October 2021 as Minister for Natural Resources and Environment and Tourism.[18][19]
In a cabinet reshuffle on 6 September 2023 he surrendered the tourism portfolio to Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, but gained responsibility for the Samoa Trust Estates Corporation and the Samoa Land Corporation.[20]