Hans Edward Kruse ''OS'' (6 January 1930 – 2 October 2021) was a

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

n civil servant, actor, and rugby player. Kruse was from Asau on Savai'i. He was educated at Marist Brothers Primary School in Mulivai,

Sacred Heart College, Auckland , motto_translation = Take Courage And Act Manfully , type = State-integrated Day & boarding Secondary school , religion = Roman Catholic Marist , gender = Boys-only , patr ...

, and Thailand University. As a young man he acted in the films '' Return to Paradise'' and ''

Pacific Destiny ''Pacific Destiny'' is a 1956 British drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Denholm Elliott, Susan Stephen and Michael Hordern. The screenplay concerns a young British couple who win the respect of the inhabitants of a South Pacific i ...

''. In 1953 he married Moana Meredith. In 1963 he captained the

Samoa national rugby union team The Samoa national rugby union team (also known as Manu Samoa) represents Samoa in men's international rugby union and it is governed by the Samoa Rugby Union. They are also known as Manu Samoa, which is thought to derive from the name of a Sam ...

at the

1963 South Pacific Games The 1963 South Pacific Games, held from 29 August to 9 September 1963 at Suva in Fiji, was the first edition of the South Pacific Games. The multisport games were established to engender bonds of friendship amongst peoples in the Pacific, after an ...

. He later worked as a civil servant, for the Public Service Commission, Customs Department, broadcasting service and as Director for the Department of Economic Development. In the private sector, he established a tobacco factory and Samoa Breweries. He then served on the board of the Central Bank of Samoa. Kruse was appointed an Officer of the Order of Samoa in the 2017 Samoa Honours and Awards. On his death in 2021 he was given a state funeral.

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at ESPNscrum 1930 births 2021 deaths People from Vaisigano Officers of the Order of Samoa Samoan male film actors Samoan civil servants Samoan rugby union players {{Samoa-bio-stub