Samoa leader apologises for Nazi salute after video from 2007 emerges

Samoa's Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt has issued an apology following the resurfacing of a 2007 video that shows him performing a Nazi salute and reciting a Nazi slogan during a family event.

In a statement shared to Facebook on Monday, Schmidt admitted his actions were inappropriate and acknowledged they could cause pain and offence. He emphasised that the recording originated from a private event and was never meant to be viewed publicly, while firmly stating his opposition to antisemitism, Nazism, racism, and extremist politics.

The incident was initially brought to light on Sunday by local publication the Samoa Observer. According to the reporting, the seven-second clip dates back to July 2007, during a Schmidt family reunion. In the recording, Schmidt directs roughly a dozen attendees to raise their right hands and chant the salute, afterwards offering thanks to the crowd for joining in. At the time the gathering took place, Schmidt served as the deputy speaker of the Samoan parliament, and a relative cited by the news outlet noted that he had been acting as master of ceremonies.

Schmidt, who shares both Samoan and German ancestral roots, assumed the office of prime minister in September 2025. Samoa, an island country with a population of approximately 221,000 situated between Hawaii and New Zealand, was historically a German colony during the early 1900s, an era that concluded following the onset of the First World War.

The controversy comes after earlier public displays of solidarity with the Jewish community and the state of Israel by the prime minister. During his swearing-in proceedings in September, Schmidt wore a Jewish prayer shawl. Following his inauguration, he publicly aligned Samoa with Israel, declaring that the nation stood with the land and stating that Samoa worships the God of Israel regardless of international opinion.

The circulation of the archive footage and the subsequent apology have drawn significant attention to the leader's past conduct just months into his term in office.