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Government/Politics
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This page is dedicated to the Samoan men and women
throughout the world
who have achieved much success
in their professions.
Click here for a more current and updated Prominent Samoan Directory:
SAMOAN ATHLETES
- baseball, basketball, body builder, boxing, football, rugby, diving, track and field, wrestling, sumo wrestling, etc.- Capt. Leafaina Olive Tavai Yahn
first Samoan to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY (1989). Currently stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. From the Gataivai, American Samoa. Parents: the late High Chief Atiumaletavai Kaleopa and Lauolive. - 1LT Dave Keleti, S3, 442nd Infantry Battalion, Honolulu, Hawaii.
- 2LT Hugo Afamasaga, S2, 442nd Infantry Battalion, Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Lt. Colonel Mapu Jamias, U.S. Army
- Lt. Fighter Pilot Toa'ale Suiava Mulitauaopele, U.S. Navy
He is the first Samoan-American to graduate from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.
He currently flies the Sikorsky HH-60A, commonly know as the H-60. - Major Stanley Snow, U.S. Air Force
He was the first Fighter pilot in the Armed Forces that was Samoan. He currently is in the National Guard and also is a commercial pilot for United Airlines in Hawaii. Major Snow flew the A-10, F-15, and F-16 Fighter jets.WARRANT OFFICERS:
- CWO4 Maligi Nua, U.S. Navy(Ret.)
Served for 24 years spending his career in Administrative Services in various ports of the world such as the Philippines, California, Hawaii & Washington D.C. He has been the assistant to Captains of Carriers such as the USS Enterprise. Throughout his career he has managed to stay very active in Church activities & has always been a well respected church member at the various Churches he was a member in, because of the traveling required of his career. He has always served as an officer for the various Church groups & has works diligently to keep the church actively working together. He has a passion for the youth & encourages the young people of today that they can accomplish anything with faith in God & faith in themselves. He is now in retirement serving the Lord as the President of South Bay Church in Carson, California. -
CW4 Liuato Tuitele, U.S. Army
ENLISTED:
- Command Sergeant Major Falaniko Ioakimo, U.S. Army
- Sergeant Major Reupena F. Togia.
He retired from the US Army as a sergeant major after more than 20 years in the Army. He was the head of the Transportation units in several countries including Italy, Korea and Germany, as well as in the US, in places such as Fort Eustis, VA; Fort Polk, LA; and Fort Ord, CA.Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan we should also include in this list.
- Robert Anae, Ph.D., Sociology
- Felix S. Wendt, Ph.D.
First Samoan to receive a doctorate from the Cornell University, Ithaca, NY - Agricultural Economics.
- Meripa Godinet, Ph.D.
First Samoan to receive a doctorate from the University of Washington, School of Social Work.
- Erika Fereti Puni, Ph.D
First SDA Samoan PhD. Graduated from Fuller Theological Seminary. After service at the North New Zealand Conference is now a lecturer at the Avondale College (University), Australia.
- Robert Anae, Ph.D.
Received his doctorate from BYU - in Sociology and has just been named as the new offensive line coach at Texas Tech. University.
Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan we should also include in this list.
- Dr. William Fruean, M.D., Internal Medicine, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Captain Lisa Fruean Smith, M.D., Pediatrics, Honolulu, Hawaii-Tripler Army Medical Center
- Dr. Fiatoa, M.D., Pediatrics, Honolulu, Hawaii
- Dr. Kurene Mao, M.D., Los Angeles, California
- Dr. Fred Jr. Uhrle, M. D., Fresno, California
- Dr. Cecelia(Sisi) Alailima, M.D., Medicine/Psychiatry, Honolulu HI
- Dr. Ernest P. Alaimalo, M.D., Psychiatry, Honolulu, HI
- Dr. Jed Alaimalo, M.D., Internal Medicine, Wailuku, Maui
- Dr. Allen Anae, M.D., Surgery, Los Angeles, CA
- Dr. Eddie Soliai, M.D., Internal Medicine, Honolulu, HI
- Dr. Victor Williams, M.D., Las Vegas, NV
- Dr. Fa'afouina Afato, M.D., San Bernadino, CA
- Dr. Mamea Emosi Fereti Puni, M.D., Apia, Samoa
Partner & Managing Director of first private Hospital in the Pacific
Islands - MEDCEN Hospital, located in Apia, Samoa. - Dr. Iotamo Saleapaga, M.D., Internal Medicine, Amerika Samoa
- Dr. Johnny Paopao, M.D., Plastic Surgery, Hilo, Hawaii
- Dr. Curtis Lavata'i, M.D., Anesthesiologist, Honolulu, HI
Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan we should also include in this list.
- Ken Galeai, Ph.D
- Jeanette Losi Vasai Tilo, M.A. cfy-slp
Ms. Tilo is currently completing her CFY requirements for her Certificate of Clinical Competence in the area of Speech Language Pathology. She is a 1992 graduate of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and received her Master of Arts in Speech Language Pathology. At the time she was awarded her degree, she was the only individual of Samoan ancestry pursuing a degree in this field as featured in the ASHA (American Speech - Language- Hearing Association) Perspectives Fall 1992 issue. -
Roy Hall, Jr., J.D., Pago Pago, American Samoa
District Court Judge and very successful private practitioner. - Bode Uale, J.D., Honolulu, Hawaii
Family Court Judge, Honolulu, Hawaii - Enere Levi, J.D., Washington, D.C.,
Legislative Counsel to The Honorable Eni F. H. Faleomavaega, and first Samoan-American to graduate from the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) School of Law. - To'oto'o Fa'auga, J.D., Honolulu, Hawaii
Former prosecutor, currently District Court Judge(criminal) - Honolulu Hawaii. - Jacinta Folasa Titiali'i, J.D., Dallas, Texas
Private practitioner, Texas. -
Sandra Salevasaosamoa King, J.D., Washington, D.C.
Democratic Staff Member, U.S. Senate Rules Committee. Raised in Auasi and Amouli. Daughter of Jake King, former owner of the Samoa Journal and Samoa News. - Tagaloa Enoka Fereti Puni, LLB, Apia, Independent State of
Samoa
Senior District Court Judge in the Samoa Courts, Apia. - Mitzie Folau, Pago Pago, J.D. American Samoa
Assistant public defender in American Samoa. Attended Samoana High School, BYU, and the University of Utah Law School.Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan we should also include in this list.
- Rev. Iese Mapu Tuuao
He is the Moderator of the Southern California Conference of the United Church of Christ. The United Church of Christ is one of the mainline Protestant Denomination in the United States. It has more than 2 million members in the U.S. It has 39 Conferences, and he is the Moderator of one of the Conference, called the Southern California Nevada Conference of the United Church of Christ. He is the first Samoan to hold this position. Many of the Samoan Congregational Churches have affiliations with the UCC.
1) Malamalama Congregational Church; and
2) Ola Fou Congregational Church in Oceanside, California. He is also a doctoral student for the Doctor of Ministry Degree at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan in religion we should also include in this list.
- Albert Wendt-Author of several popular books.
- Laura Fa'amoe Ale, First Samoan female pilot
- Joe P Faiai, U.S. Army test pilot - commercial airline pilot
- Fa'alavelave Elama Fereti Puni, Apia, Samoa
First Samoan to become a Captain flying Polynesian Airlines. Currently flying in Dubai, UAE in the Middle East.
Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan we should also include in this list.
- So'oalo Enterprises, Honolulu, Hawaii
Owner/operator - Asia Pacific Variety Store - general Asian and Polynesian retail store
Located at: 1270 North King St. Suite B Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
Ph: 1-800 (808) 842-0743 Fax: (808) 843-1163
- Jack "Tihati" Thompson, Honolulu, Hawaii
Owner/operator - "Tihati Productions" - Hawaii's largest and most-successful Polynesian entertainment company
- Tanielu Sataraka, Honolulu, Hawaii
Owner/publisher - Samoa International Magazine - Samoa's first international news magazine, with worldwide circulation.
- Tuli, Honolulu, Hawaii
Owner/operator - Tuli's Market - first Samoan to successfully own/operate a "Samoan store" in Honolulu. Tuli paved the way for other Samoan store owners in Honolulu.
- President T. David Hannemann
First Polynesian (Samoan) to serve as the President of the Hawaii Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located in Laie, Oahu, Hawaii. He has also been a very successful business man both in California, where he owned his own catering company and ran the Wax Museum in Anaheim, and in Hawaii where he has served as a Sr. Vice-President for the Polynesian Cultural Center over protocol. He was awarded BYUH's most prestigious recognition reserved for those who have dedicated their lives to their communities in 1995.
Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan we should also include in this list.
- Paulo Pueliu Jr., Regional Vice President, Pacific 17 Engineering Consulting, San Francisco, CA
- Civil Engineer Henry Winky Wendt
He was raised in Carson, parents are Ana and Hans Wendt. Winky is the nephew of author Albert Wendt (Hans and Albert are brothers). Winky graduated from UCLA in 1981 and went on to work for Parsons (a huge engineering company located in Southern California). Winky and his wife Debra now reside in Samoa - Independent State of Samoa.Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan we should also include in this list.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS:
Listed below are Samoans who have achieved success or prominence on either a national scale or in a place other than Samoa. For obvious reasons, we have excluded politicians who have achieved government or political success limited to Samoa.
ENI F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA
U.S. Congressman American Samoa, At LargeCongressman Faleomavaega, or "Eni" as he is popularly known among the Samoan people, is American Samoa's longest-serving representative to the U.S. House of Representatives. Faleomavaega is currently serving his sixth-term as American Samoa's Representative. He is the author of Navigating the Future, a book about A Samoan Perspective on U.S.-Pacific Relations
MUFI HANNEMANN
Honolulu City Council Chairman Honolulu, HawaiiChairman Hanneman is the first Samoan-American to graduate from Harvard University and he is also the first Samoan American to serve as a White House Fellow. He presently serves as chairman of the powerful Honolulu City Council.
PETER TALI COLEMAN
Former Governor of:
(1)American Samoa,
(2)Republic of the Marshall Islands,
(3)Northern Marianas Islands
Pago Pago, American SamoaFirst Pacific Islander to head the governments of what are now the Republic of the Marshall Islands from 1961 to 1965, and now the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, 1965 to 1969, he is believed to be the only Pacific Islander to have headed 3 of the 21 governments of what is now considered the modern insular Pacific. He was also the first U.S. citizen ever to have been awarded an honorary Marshall Island citizenship, an honor accorded to him by a special act of the Nitijela, the Marshalls' Parliament.
Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan politician we should also include in this list.
SPORTS:
Due to the large number of Samoans in this field, we created a page especially for this profession. Listed in this page are Samoans in various sports who have achieved success or prominence on either a national/global scale or in a place other than Samoa.
List of prominent Samoans (past and present) in:
MILITARY
OFFICERS:
MEDICINE
Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan we should also include in this list.
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Rehabilitation
Click Here to nominate a prominent Samoan we should also include in this list. ================================================================================
LAW
RELIGION:
FAMOUS AUTHORS
AVIATORS:
ENTREPRENEURS:
ENGINEERING
This page was launched 2/13/99 and has been visited
Last Updated: January 22, 2001
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