Peter Tali Coleman
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2007-09-07T15:59:56Z
SmackBot
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Set up birth date/death date template and/or general fixes
{{Infobox_Governor
|name= Peter Tali Coleman
|image=
|caption=
|order=30<sup>th</sup>, 37<sup>th</sup> and 39<sup>th</sup>
|office= Governor of American Samoa
|term_start= multiple terms
|term_end= see succession box
|lieutenant=
|predecessor= ''see succession box''
|successor=''see succession box''
|birth_date= {{birth date|1919|12|8|mf=y}}
|birth_place= [[Pago Pago, American Samoa]]
|death_date= {{death date and age|1997|4|28|1919|12|8|mf=y}}
|death_place= [[Honolulu, Hawaii]]
|spouse=
|profession= attorney
|party= [[United States Republican Party|Republican]]
|footnotes=
}}
'''Peter Tali Coleman''' ([[December 8]], [[1919]] - [[April 28]], [[1997]]) was the first person of Samoan descent to be appointed [[governor]] of [[American Samoa]] and later became the territory's first popularly elected governor. A member of the [[United States Republican Party|Republican Party]], he is the only U.S. governor whose service spanned five decades ([[1956]]-[[1961]], [[1978]]-[[1985]] and [[1989]]-[[1993]]) and the second longest serving governor in American history.
Born in Pago Pago, American Samoa, Coleman graduated from St. Louis High School in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]]. He later joined the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of [[captain]] during [[World War II]]. He received his law degree from [[Georgetown University]], and served in American Samoa both as a public defender in American Samoa and the territory's attorney general.
Coleman was appointed governor of [[American Samoa]] in 1956 by President [[Dwight Eisenhower]]. At the conclusion of his term, he served a variety of positions in the Pacific Islands, including:
* district administrator for the [[Marshall Islands]]
* district administrator for the [[Marianas Islands]]
* deputy high chief of the [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]]
In 1977, Coleman became the first popularly elected governor of American Samoa. He was subsequently elected in 1980 and 1988.
Coleman died in 1997 in Honolulu after a two-year struggle with cancer.
==External links==
* [http://starbulletin.com/97/04/29/news/story4.html Obituary in the ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'']
{{start box}}
{{succession box|
title=[[List of American Samoa Governors|Governor of American Samoa]]<br>(1st Term)|
before=[[Richard Barrett Lowe]]|
after=[[Hyrum Rex Lee]]|
years=[[1956]]–[[1961]]|
}}
{{succession box|
title=[[List of American Samoa Governors|Governor of American Samoa]]<br>(2nd and 3rd Terms)|
before=[[Hyrum Rex Lee]]|
after=[[A.P. Lutali]]|
years=[[1978]]–[[1985]]|
}}
{{succession box|
title=[[List of American Samoa Governors|Governor of American Samoa]]<br>(4th Term)|
before=[[A.P. Lutali]]|
after=[[A.P. Lutali]]|
years=[[1989]]–[[1993]]|
}}
{{end box}}
{{ASGovernors}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Peter Tali}}
[[Category:1919 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:Governors of American Samoa]]
[[Category:Politics of American Samoa]]