Malietoa Tanumafili II of Samoa
Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAL : Malietoa Tanumafili II of Samoa
Malietoa Tanumafili II GCMG DCNZM CBE (born January 4, 1913) (also called Susuga) is one of the paramount chiefs and the current head of state (O le Ao o le Malo) of Samoa (and also the oldest national leader in the world). He holds this position for life. He descends from Samoa's four princely families (Aiga Tupu) and holds the title Malietoa, one of the paramount titles.
Upon Samoa's independence in 1962, he was joint head of state with Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole. When the latter died in 1963, he became sole head of state. As of August 2005, Malietoa Tanumafili is the third-longest serving head of state in the world, after the King of Thailand and Queen Elizabeth II.
Malietoa Tanumafili II is a follower of the Bahá'í Faith. He is only the second royal (after Queen Marie of Romania) to be a member of that religion. The Bahá'í House of Worship in Tiapapata, eight kilometers from the country's capital of Apia, was dedicated by him in 1984.
Honours
- Honorary Knight Grant Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (1977)
- Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- Honorary Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
|- style="text-align: center;"
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.