Faleomavaega, Eni F. H. (Eni Fa‘aua‘a Hunkin), 1943-2017

<p>Eni Fa'aua'a Hunkin Faleomavaega Jr. (/ˈɛniː fəˌleɪ.oʊmɑːvəˈɛŋɡə/; August 15, 1943 – February 22, 2017) was an American Samoan politician and attorney who served as the territory's lieutenant governor (1985-1989) and non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives (1989-2015). As a delegate, Faleomavaega served on committees and spoke on the House floor; however, he was not permitted to vote on the final passage of any legislation. He also was the father-in-law of former professional American football fullback Fui Vakapuna.</p>

<p>Faleomavaega was born in Vailoatai, American Samoa and grew up in Oahu, Hawaii. He graduated from Kahuku High School and initially attended Church College of Hawaii (now Brigham Young University–Hawaii), where he completed his associate's degree. He then transferred to Brigham Young University's main campus in Utah and earned a B.A. in political science and history in 1966. He received his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center in 1972 and LL.M. from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 1973.</p>

<p>He served as an enlistee in the United States Army from 1966 to 1969, and as an officer in the United States Army Reserve from 1982 to 1989. He completed a tour in the Vietnam War and left the military with the rank of captain following his second term of service. He and his wife were active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.</p>

FALEOMAVAEGA, Eni F. H., a Delegate from American Samoa; born in Vailoatai Village, American Samoa, August 15, 1943; graduated from Kahuku High School, Kahuku, Hawaii; B.A., Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1966; J.D., University of Houston, Houston, Tex., 1972; LL.M., University of California, Berkeley, Calif., 1973; United States Army, 1966-1969; United States Army Reserve, 1982-1989; administrative assistant, American Samoa delegate to Washington, D.C., 1973-1975; staff, United States House of Representatives Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, 1975-1981; deputy attorney general, American Samoa, 1981-1984; lieutenant governor of American Samoa, 1985-1989; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred First and to the twelve succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1989-January 3, 2015); was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the One Hundred Fourteenth Congress in 2014; died on February 22, 2017, in Provo, Utah; interment at Provo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah.

<p>In 1989 Eni F. H. Faleomavaega became only the second Delegate from American Samoa to serve in the House. Upon his departure from Congress 26 years later, Faleomavaega owned the distinction, albeit briefly, as the longest-serving Delegate in House history. As a House committee staffer in the 1970s, Faleomavaega had helped American Samoa gain a House seat and during his time in Congress was “dogged in his determination to improve the economic lot of his island territory,” according to one political almanac. Being a Delegate from American Samoa was not always the easiest job, but his strong relationship with Democratic leaders and his work in committee often helped him overcome the circumscribed powers of his office, and earned him the moniker the “champion of the Pacific Islanders.”</p>

<p>Eni Fa‘aua‘a Hunkin Faleomavaega Jr., was born on August 15, 1943, to Eni Fa‘aua‘a Sr., and Taualaitufanuaimeaatamali‘i. His last name, in Samoan, “means house where important things or decisions are made.” Faleomavaega grew up in Vailoatai Village, a fishing and boat-building community along the island’s southwest coast. “Our culture is very much closely associated with families,” the Congressman said in 2011. “Of course you have your immediate family, and then we also have what is known as the extended family, or you might say clans in that respect. So I might be related to 15 or 20 different clans—both on my mother’s side and my father’s side.”</p>

<p>Faleomavaega’s father served in the U.S. Navy, and when the Delegate was just a boy, the military transferred the family to Hawaii, making room deep below deck of an outdated ship for Samoan families by placing makeshift beds in the cargo hold. “It was the most inhumane way of transporting human passengers,” Faleomavaega recalled. “It was like a dungeon in there.” Faleomavaega spent “about half” his life in Hawaii, graduating from Kahuku High School in northern Oahu. He spent his first two years of college at nearby Church College, before transferring to Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. In 1966 Faleomavaega graduated from BYU and enlisted in the United States Army. In 1972, after a tour in Vietnam, where he was exposed to the dangerous chemical Agent Orange during his time in Nha Trang, Faleomavaega earned a JD from the University of Houston in Texas. He then accepted a fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley, earning an LLM in 1973. Faleomavaega married Antonina Hinanui; together they raised five children.</p>