Samoa leader apologises for Nazi salute after video from 2007 emerges
Samoan Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt has apologized after a 2007 video surfaced showing him performing a Nazi salute. Schmidt, who took office in 2025, condemned Nazism and antisemitism while clarifying the video was from a private family event.
Why it matters
The emergence of such footage involving a head of state raises questions about political accountability and historical sensitivity in leadership.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Schmidt, who has Samoan and German heritage, took office as prime minister in September 2025
Samoa's prime minister has apologised after a video emerged of him giving a Nazi salute while saying "Heil Hitler" at a family gathering.
In the seven-second clip filmed in July 2007, Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Schmidt is seen leading about a dozen people in the salute. "Raise your right hand, Heil Hitler!" he says, then thanks the group for responding.
Schmidt has acknowledged that his words and gesture "were inappropriate and capable of causing offence and hurt", adding that the clip was recorded at a private gathering and "not intended for the public".
"I reject Nazism, antisemitism, racism and all forms of political extremism," Schmidt said in a statement published on Facebook on Monday.
The footage was first reported by local outlet the Samoa Observer in a news story on Sunday.
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