The Government of Samoa through the Office of the Attorney General hosted the 38th Annual General Meeting for the Pacific Law Officers Network (PILON), this week.
Eighteen countries make up PILON including the Kingdom of Tonga.
Attending on behalf of Tonga was their new Attorney General (AG) Linda Simiki Folaumoetu’i SC.
She was appointed as AG by His Majesty King Tupou VI on March 21, 2019 and during the AGM, was voted on to the PILON Board Executive Committee for 2020.
Chairperson of this year’s AGM and Board for 2020, AG Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff congratulated Tonga on their appointment to the PILON Board and expressed his excitement on working together with the newly appointed Tongan AG.
“I was privileged to welcome and meet Mrs. Folaumoetu'i as the newly appointed AG of Tonga and also congratulate her and the Kingdom of Tonga on their seat in the PILON Board Executive Committee 2020,” said Lemalu.
“She joins us with a wealth of knowledge and experience and I am very much looking forward to working together with her.”
Linda Folaumoetu’i SC served as the Solicitor General of the Tonga Crown Law Department from 2006 to 2008. She then served as a Litigation and Advisor under the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) from July 2008 to 2014. Upon her return to Tonga 2015, she was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Office of the Ombudsman before her appointment as AG. She is a direct advisor to the His Majesty the King as an appointed Law Lord.
“I am very grateful to Attorney General Lemalu Hermann Retzlaff and the Government of Samoa for being wonderful hosts of the 38th PILON Annual General Meeting this year,” said Mrs Folaumoetu’i .
“I anticipate building on the strong relationship between our countries as we continue to promote together the upholding of the rule of law for our people and the Pacific region as a whole.”