Gaoteote Palaie Tofau is an

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

n politician serving as a member and president of the

American Samoa Senate The American Samoa Senate is the upper house of the American Samoa Fono. The Senate, like the lower House of Representatives, is a nonpartisan body. It is composed of 18 senators, serving a four-year term. History American Samoa became a United ...

. Tofau first took office in January 2004 after serving as a member of the American Samoa House of Representatives.

Early life

Tofau was raised in

Vatia, American Samoa Vatia is a village on Tutuila, Tutuila Island in American Samoa. It is a north shore village located on Vatia Bay. The road to Vatia, American Samoa Highway 006, is the only road going through National Park of American Samoa. Vatia is a scenic com ...

. His father served as a member of the

. After graduating from high school, Tofau attended

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Manoa, Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It ...

on a full scholarship sponsored by the

Government of American Samoa The government of American Samoa is defined under the Constitution of American Samoa. The United States Congress, in the Ratification Act of 1929, provided that until the Congress shall provide for the Government of the islands of American Samoa al ...

Career

Tofau served as a career member of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, retiring after 22 years as a Command

Sergeant Major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in the ...

. Tofau eventually returned to

to care for his father. He worked at Tafuna High School in the

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

program. In 1998, he was elected to the American Samoa House of Representatives, serving until 2002. From 2002 to 2004, he served as a special assistant to the

Commissioner of Public Safety The New Jersey Commissioner of Public Safety heads one of the departments in those local governments in New Jersey that operate under the Walsh Act (New Jersey), Walsh Act form of municipal governance, with oversight over the police and fire departm ...

. In 2005, Tofau was elected to the

. He was selected to serve as president of the senate in 2009. In February 2020, Tofau announced his candidacy for governor in the

2020 American Samoa gubernatorial election The 2020 American Samoa gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, coinciding with the 2020 United States presidential elections and other United States elections. Incumbent Governor of American Samoa Lolo Matalasi Moliga was not e ...

. Tofau's running mate will be Faiivae Iuli Alex Godinet, a fellow member of the

and president of the

Football Federation American Samoa Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS) is the governing body for competitive football in the nation of American Samoa. History It came into existence following inaugural elections held in late 2007. The new general secretariat took office und ...

Personal life

Tofau and his wife, Betty Fritz, have six children and 15 grandchildren. He is a member of the

Congregational Christian Church in American Samoa The Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa (CCCAS) or the "Ekalesia Faapotopotoga Kerisiano i Amerika Samoa" (EFKAS) is a theologically Calvinist and congregational denomination in American Samoa. It was established in 1980 with Galea'i ...

. One of Tofau's grandsons, Palaie Gaoteote IV, is an

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

college football player for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tofau, Gaoteote Palaie American Samoa Senators American Samoan Congregationalists American Samoan politicians Living people Members of the American Samoa House of Representatives University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Year of birth missing (living people)