General elections were held in Samoa on 9 April 2021 to determine the composition of the 17th Parliament. The Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which had been in government for most of the time since 1982, was led into the election by Tuilaʻepa Saʻilele Malielegaoi, who had served as prime minister since 1998. The passage of the controversial Land and Titles bills by the HRPP led some party members to defect, establishing the Faʻatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) party promising a repeal. FAST elected Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, the daughter of Samoa's first prime minister, as leader shortly before the election; she left the ruling party and resigned as deputy prime minister in 2020, also in opposition to the amendments.

Susuga Tuilaʻepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Saʻilele Malielegaoi is a Samoan politician and economist who served as the sixth prime minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021. Tuilaʻepa is Samoa's longest serving prime minister and was leader of the opposition from 2021 to 2022. Since 1998, he has led the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP). Tuilaʻepa first entered parliament in 1981 when he won a by-election to represent the electorate of Lepā. He also served as deputy prime minister and minister of finance in the government of Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana, and also held the portfolios of Tourism and Trade, Commerce & Industry.