Tufele Faatoia Liamatua, spelled Tufele Li'amatua, was an American Samoan politician, businessman and paramount chief.
21 Facts About Tufele Liamatua
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Tufele Liamatua served as the first elected lieutenant governor of American Samoa under former Governor Peter Tali Coleman from 1978 to 1985.
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Tufele Liamatua's wife, Tofiga, is a longtime nurse at LBJ Tropical Medical Center.
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Peter Tali Coleman, who had previously served as appointed governor during the 1950s, and his running mate, Tufele Liamatua, won the 1977 gubernatorial election on November 1,1977, becoming the first directly elected governor and Lieutenant governor of American Samoa, respectively.
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Coleman and Tufele Liamatua successfully campaigned for a second full term in office in the 1980 gubernatorial election.
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Tufele Liamatua left office on January 3,1985, and was succeeded by Eni Faleomavaega.
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Tufele Liamatua held the position of police commissioner at one point.
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Tufele Liamatua was appointed as the chairman of the Future Political Status Study Commission in 2006.
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Tufele Liamatua asked for an extended deadline for the commission's findings.
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Tufele Liamatua called for full autonomy for American Samoa in November 2006, citing a list of political weaknesses which needed to be addressed by the Future Political Status Study Commission.
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Tufele Liamatua recognized that the Governor of American Samoa, elected by the people, could be removed by the US Secretary of the Interior at any time.
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Tufele Liamatua cited three other examples in his argument for complete autonomy for American Samoa.
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Tufele Liamatua reiterated that the United Nations lists American Samoa as a non-self governing territory.
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Tufele Liamatua cited American Samoa's application to join the Pacific Islands Forum as an associate member by Governor Togiola Tulafono, which the US State Department wanted to rescind because the application was not handled by the federal government.
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Tufele Liamatua was elected to the American Samoa House of Representatives in 2006, representing Su'a Number One District.
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Tufele Liamatua became the chairman of the House retirement and communications committees.
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Tufele Liamatua simultaneously became the head of the Department of Local Government upon his appointment to the office.
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Secretary Tufele Liamatua is charged with welcoming visiting dignitaries, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her brief visit to American Samoa in November 2010.
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On November 28,2010, Secretary Tufele Liamatua called on the American Samoan community to help prevent the spread of HIV and AIDs in a keynote speech presented in the run-up to World AIDS Day at a Sunday church service.
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Tufele Liamatua died unexpectedly in Honolulu, Hawaii, on October 13,2011, at the age of 71.
21.
Tufele Liamatua was flown back to American Samoa on board a Hawaiian Airlines flight on October 20,2011.