Peter Tali Coleman

rdf:langString Peter Tali Coleman

rdf:langString Peter Coleman

rdf:langString Peter Coleman

rdf:langString U.S.

rdf:langString Georgetown University

rdf:langString Position established

rdf:langString

rdf:langString June 1955

rdf:langString Republican nominee for Governor of American Samoa

rdf:langString Peter Tali Coleman (December 8, 1919 – April 28, 1997) was an American Samoan politician and lawyer. Coleman was the first and only person of Samoan descent to be appointed Governor of American Samoa between 1956 and 1961, and later became the territory's first and third popularly elected governor from 1978 to 1985 and 1989 to 1993, serving a total of three elected terms. In between, he had served in different administrative positions for Pacific islands. Born to an American navy officer and a native mother in American Samoa, he grew up there and in Hawaii and participated in World War II, before becoming a lawyer and then returning to American Samoa to practice law there. In 1955 he was briefly appointed by the Republican federal government as the first Attorney General of American Samoa, and then became governor in 1956. During his first administration, Coleman chaired the convention that drafted the Constitution of American Samoa, containing the bill of rights and providing protection for Samoans against alienation of their lands and loss of their culture. His administration also laid the foundation for the American Samoa Fono legislature and produced the official seal and flag of American Samoa. When the Democrats overtook the federal government, he was replaced and appointed to different administrative positions for Pacific islands. He came back to American Samoa once more in 1977 to run for the first gubernatorial election of the territory. After American Samoans had finally approved to elect their own governor in that year, he was elected the first and third governor in 1977, 1980 and 1988 over his Democratic rival A. P. Lutali each time, losing against him in 1992. He also was the founding chairman of the territory's Republican Party, serving from 1985 to 1988. To this date he has been the only Republican governor ever of American Samoa. Coleman’s career spanned over the entire second half of the 20th century. He is the only governor in the United States whose service spanned five decades and one of the longest-serving governors of any jurisdiction in American history. He was a recipient of the 1997 American Samoan Governor’s Humanitarian Award and gained the chiefly title Uifa’atali from his home village of Pago Pago. The Peter Tali Coleman Lecture on Pacific Public Policy has been a part of the Pacific Islands Project at Georgetown University, where Coleman received his degree. In 1978, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Chaminade University of Honolulu and in 1970 one from the University of Guam.