Peter Tali Coleman, Samoan-American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of American Samoa (d. 1997)
Peter Tali Coleman (December 8, 1919 – April 28, 1997) was an American Samoan politician and lawyer. Coleman was 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 Republican Party, he is the only U.S. governor whose service spanned five decades (1956–1961, 1978–1985 and 1989–1993) and one of the longest-serving governors of any jurisdiction in American history. In 1955, Coleman became the first person of Samoan ancestry to serve as Attorney General of American Samoa.He was the founding chairman of the territory's Republican Party, serving from 1985 to 1988. He is the only person in American Samoa history to have served as both appointed and elected Governor. During his first administration in the 1960s, Coleman chaired the convention that drafted the Constitution of American Samoa, and his administration laid the foundation for the American Samoa Fono legislature. His administration also produced the official seal and flag of American Samoa.Coleman’s career spanned over the entire second half of the 20th century. He was a recipient of the 1997 American Samoan Governor’s Humanitarian Award and gained the chiefly title Uifa’atali from his home village of Pago Pago. During his first term in office, a constitution, containing the bill of rights and providing protection for Samoans against alienation of their lands and loss of their culture, was approved in 1960, and an American Samoa flag was adopted.In 1951, he was the first person of Samoan ancestry to receive a law degree from an American university or from any university. The Peter Tali Coleman Lecture on Pacific Public Policy has been a part of the Pacific Islands Project at Georgetown University, where Coleman received his degree. In 1978, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Chaminade University of Honolulu and in 1970 from the University of Guam.