becomes a German colony; Eastern Samoa becomes an American Territory. 1914 - 1920 Western Samoa occupied by New Zealand Expeditionary Force when World War I starts. 1920 - 1945 Western Samoa held and administered by NZ under League of Nations Mandate. 1946 - 1962 Western Samoa administered by NZ under direction of UN Trusteeship Council. 1953 - NZ offers progressive plan towards self-government and the first Executive Council is established. 1954 - The Constitutional Convention accepts the NZ plan for self-government. 1957 - A New Executive Council established, the Fono of Faipule is abolished, Legislative Assembly reorganized and enlarged. 1958 - NZ Reparation Estates are handed over to Samoan control and renamed Western Samoan Trust Estates Corporation. 1960 - The Constitutional Convention with 174 delegates (including ten expatriates) begins process of independence. 1961 - Adult Samoans vote overwhelmingly in a UN sponsored plebiscite to become independent. January 1, 1962 - Western Samoa becomes an independent sovereign state. 1970 - Western Samoa becomes a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. Modern political history From independence until the 1970s, Fono debate was conducted in the typical 'consensus' style manner of the faamatai system in the villages. This meant due deference was usually shown to the Tama-a-Aiga within parliament (the highest ranking chiefs in the nation). Debate usually ended up with the members supporting the then Tama-a-Aiga prime minister or other highly ranked chiefs in the house. Fiame Mataafa Mulinuu II was re-elected as Prime Minister unopposed for most of the period between 1962 and 1975. There were no political parties in these consensus-style parliaments of the 1960s and early 1970s. In the 1970-73 parliament, the first woman speaker of the Fono was chosen - Leaupepe Faima'ala. However, rising competition and differences in views between MPs in the 1970s led to the establishment of the first political party - the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) in 1979. The 1978 election was the first time a non-Tama-a-Aiga was chosen as Prime Minister. The election of Tupuola Efi to the prime ministership by his supporters was met with staunch opposition from various quarters of the Fono and caused huge controversy at the time because he had defeated a Tama-a-Aiga candidate. The HRPP was set up in part to oppose the then Prime Minister, Tupuola Efi, and also to demand greater rights for farmers. One of the founding members was Va'ai Kolone - a famous