Declaration
Independence of Western Samoa, 1962
Western Samoa became independent from New Zealand on 1 January 1962 under the Independent State of Western Samoa Act, 1961, following a UN-requested plebiscite and a UN General Assembly vote to end the trusteeship, becoming the first Pacific island state to gain independence.
What happened
Western Samoa had been administered by New Zealand from 1920, at first under a League of Nations Mandate and from 1946 under a UN Trusteeship Agreement charging New Zealand with promoting "the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the inhabitants and their progressive development towards self-government or independence."[1] At the request of the United Nations, a plebiscite was held in May 1961 in which an overwhelming majority of Samoans voted for independence; in November 1961 the UN General Assembly voted unanimously to end the trusteeship agreement, and the New Zealand Parliament passed the Independent State of Western Samoa Act, formally ending New Zealand's powers over the country on 1 January 1962.[1] A new constitution was accompanied by a Treaty of Friendship guaranteeing New Zealand assistance in areas including foreign affairs and defence.[1]
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: Western Samoa had been administered by New Zealand from 1920, first under a League of Nations Mandate and from 1946 under a UN Trusteeship Agreement charging New Zealand with promoting "the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the inhabitants and their progressive development towards self-government or independence." At the request of the United Nations, a plebiscite was held in May 1961 in which an overwhelming majority of Samoans voted for independence; in November 1961 the General Assembly voted unanimously to end the trusteeship, and the New Zealand Parliament passed the Independent State of Western Samoa Act, formally ending New Zealand's powers on 1 January 1962, accompanied by a Treaty of Friendship guaranteeing New Zealand assistance in foreign affairs and defence.
- EBSCO Research Starters, Western Samoa Gains Independence from New Zealand (EBSCO, 1 January 1962) link, article text. Source record