WELLINGTON (Pacnews) — Samoa’s long-serving head of state, Malietoa Tanumafili II, who died on Friday, preserved his country’s stability when other newly independent Pacific nations succumbed to violence and unrest.
Tino Pereira, a Samoan community leader in New Zealand, said the death of Malietoa would be keenly felt in New Zealand and in Samoa.
Malietoa died aged 94 at the Tupua Tamasese National Hospital in Apia, where he had been for about a week.
Pereira said Malietoa had presided over the first independent Polynesian State which had been free of the violence and instability that affected many of its Pacific neighbors.
“He provided calm and strength. He showed great compassion and was loved by Samoans as the father of the nation.”
Pereira described Malietoa’s constitutional role as similar to that of New Zealand’s governor-general.
He had held one of the four paramount chiefly titles in Samoa and the parliament will elect a successor from one of his two deputies within 30 days.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark has expressed New Zealand’s sorrow at the death of Malietoa.
“Through his long reign as head of state, Malietoa represented Samoa with wisdom, humor and insight. He was head of state from the time of Samoa’s independence from New Zealand 45 years ago, and at the time of his death was understood to be the world’s oldest national leader.”
Clark said Malietoa had helped to frame Samoa’s constitution before independence from New Zealand in Jan. 1962 and became joint head of state then.
From 1963, after the death of Tupua Tamasese Mea’ole, he became the sole head of state.
Malietoa, born on Jan. 4, 1913. He was educated in Samoa at the government-run Leififi School then at St. Stephen’s and Wesley College in New Zealand. He was an active sportsman, playing rugby and cricket.
He succeeded to the title of Malietoa in 1940 when his father died and was appointed an adviser to the New Zealand governor in Samoa the same year.
His successor will be elected by the legislature to a five-year term, as stipulated in the constitution.