NAME:
Eni Fa’aua’a Hunkin Faleomavaega Jr.
BIRTHPLACE:
Vailoatai, American Samoa
KNOWN FOR:
Former Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa and Democratic House of Representative in Congress. He served in the United States Army from 1966-1969, the United States Army Reserve from 1982-1989 and the Vietnam War with the rank of Captain.
SHORT BIO / CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
Faleomavaega attended Brigham Young University in Hawaii, completing an Associates degree. He then transferred to BYU in Utah where he obtained a B.A in Political Science, then went on to attend the University of House Law Center and the University of California in Berkley. He earned his Juris Doctor and Master of Law degrees.
Faleomavaega served as the administrative assistant to American Samoa Delegate A.U. Fuimaono from 1973-1975, and as staff counsel for the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs from 1975-1981. He worked as Deputy Attorney General for the territory of American Samoa between 1981-1984.
Faleomavaega entered elective politics when he ran alongside A.P. Lutali in the 1985 gubernatorial race. He served as Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa from 1985-1989.
Faleomavaega was elected as a Democrat to the House of Representatives in 1988, serving from January 3, 1989 to the present.
Faleomavaega is the author of Navigating the Future: A Samoan Perspective on U.S.-Pacific Relations and was a crew member of the Polynesian voyaging canoe, Hokule’a, which sailed from Tahiti to Hawaii in 1987.
He also sailed on the Rainbow Warrior in protest of French nuclear testing in Polynesia.
- Vietnam War Veteran
- One of the First Samoans ranked as Captain while serving in the Vietnam War