Peter Tali Coleman 726815 156292745 2007-09-07T15:59:56Z SmackBot 433328 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]]&ndash;[[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]]&ndash;[[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]]&ndash;[[1993]]| }} {{end box}} {{ASGovernors}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Peter Tali}} [[Category:1919 births]] [[Category:1997 deaths]] [[Category:Governors of American Samoa]] [[Category:Politics of American Samoa]]