Public Life
Tanumafili officially inherited the royal title of Malietoa in 1940, following the 1939 death of his father, Malietoa Tanumafili I, though some media reports claim that he received the title of Malietoa in 1939. Soon after becoming Malietoa, he was appointed to serve as a special adviser, also called Fautua, to the New Zealand administration and governor of Samoa, known as the New Zealand Trusteeship of Samoa, until independence in 1962.
Upon Samoa's independence in 1962, Malietoa Tanumafili II became joint O le Ao o le Malo, or head of state, with Tupua Tamasese Mea'ole. Tanumafili and Mea'ole would rule jointly as head of state for just 16 months. When Mea'ole died in 1963, Tanumafili became the sole Samoan head of state, a post he held for life until his death in 2007. He is often credited for providing much of the stability that Samoa has enjoyed post independence.
Malietoa traveled extensively during his reign as the Samoan head of state (O le Ao o le Malo). He traveled to the People's Republic of China for an official state visit in 1976. Additionally, during his reign he also visited Australia, Fiji, Hawai'i, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Tonga, the United Kingdom and the former West Germany. Malietoa Tanumafili was among the foreign dignitaries who attended the funeral of Japanese Emperor Showa in 1989.
Malietoa Tanumafili II was described as the last survivor of a generation of important Pacific leaders who guided their countries and peoples from colonialism to independence. His death was the latest in a string of recent, high profile passings of members of this Pacific generation of leaders, which included the late Fijian president, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the King of Tonga, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, and New Zealand's Maori Queen, Dame Te Atairangikaahu.
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