[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 2, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S4699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PASSING OF GOVERNOR TAUESE SUNIA

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, it is with great sadness that I rise today 
to inform my colleagues of the passing of a great leader in the Pacific 
Islands, Gov. Tauese Pita Fiti Sunia, who died on Wednesday, March 26, 
2003, en route to Honolulu from Apia, Samoa. Governor Sunia was a dear 
friend and Millie and I join the people of Samoa, Hawaii's Samoan 
community, and Samoans throughout the United States in sending our 
deepest sympathy and condolences to his wife Fagaoalii Satele Sunia, as 
well as his family, including his 10 children, and many grandchildren.
  Governor Sunia was an educator. He earned a master's degree in 
educational administration from the University of Hawaii, and spent 
many years as a teacher, educational television instructor, and 
administrator. Governor Sunia also served as vice president of the 
American Samoa Community College and territorial director of Education. 
One of his top priorities was to make sure that every child in Samoa 
was computer literate, and he worked hard towards his goal of ensuring 
that every school in American Samoa had a computer room with Internet 
access.
  I had the pleasure of meeting and visiting with Governor Sunia on a 
number of occasions during his visits to Washington, DC, and Honolulu, 
and during my visits to American Samoa. He was an immensely engaging 
and congenial man, and our official meetings frequently departed from 
the agenda to discussions of Polynesian history, anthropology, and the 
Native Hawaiian and Samoan cultures. In 1997, Senator Frank Murkowski, 
who was chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and I 
visited American Samoa. We met with Governor Sunia and heard about his 
efforts to bring economic development and opportunities to Samoa. We 
were able to exchange ideas and assist him at the Federal level to 
bolster the local economy. Whether the issue was economic development, 
local agriculture, or educational opportunities for Samoan youth, 
Governor Sunia worked hard on behalf of the people of American Samoa. 
He understood the importance of balancing the preservation of culture 
with maximizing opportunities for American Samoa in today's global 
economy.
  Governor Sunia was well respected not only in American Samoa, but in 
the Pacific Basin. He was also a man with a strong and abiding faith. 
He was deacon, vice chairman, and chairman of the Congregational 
Christian Church in American Samoa, and worked for both the spiritual 
and temporal well-being of the Samoan people. He cared deeply for all 
Pacific islanders, and we will all truly miss him. Well done, good and 
faithful servant.

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