Wilhelm Solf
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Wilhelm Solf (1862 - 1936) served as the German Governor of Samoa (1900 -1911). He deposed several native chiefs - including Mamoe, an early figure in the Mau movement. As well as deposing members of the Maloa o Samoa (Samoan council of chiefs), Solf called in two German warships in a show of strength. Faced with this demonstration of military force, and with the movement divided, Mamoe surrendered, and resistance faded until the 1910s.
Solf became the German Empire's secretary for Colonies, then Foreign Minister. Under Weimar he served as ambassador to Japan. His liberal/moderate opposition to the Nazis led to the arrest of himself, his wife and his Samoan-born daughter Lagi.
See also: history of Samoa
| Preceded by: Friedrich von Lindequist | Secretary for the Colonies 1911–1918 | Followed by: Philipp Scheidemann |
| Preceded by: Paul von Hintze | Minister of Foreign Affairs 1918 | Followed by: Count Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau |