The government of

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 ...

consists of a locally elected

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and the

American Samoa Fono The American Samoa Fono is the territorial legislature of American Samoa. Like most states and territorial legislatures of the United States, it is a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate. The legislature is lo ...

, which consists of an 18-member

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and a 21-member

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. The first popular election for Governor and

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

took place in 1977. Candidates for the offices run together on a joint ticket. The first woman to run for election was

Arieta Enesi Mulitauaopele Arieta Enesi Mulitauaopele (21 February 1923 - 5 February 1990) was an American Samoan nurse and politician, who was the first Samoan to work as Chief Public Health Nurse in American Samoa, and was the first Samoan woman to run for election as Li ...

in 1977. The current lieutenant governor is

Eleasalo Ale Eleasalo Va'alele "Salo" Ale is an American Samoan attorney serving as the 10th lieutenant governor of American Samoa. He previously served as Attorney General of American Samoa from 2014 to 2020. On January 13, 2020, Ale resigned as attorney gen ...

, who has been in office since 2021.

List of lieutenant governors of American Samoa

Appointed lieutenant governors

Frank Barnett Frank Elliott Barnett (July 20, 1933 – July 15, 2016) was the governor of American Samoa from October 1, 1976, to May 27, 1977. Before becoming governor, he was a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and a Tennessee attorney. He served as the ...

(Democrat, 1974–76)

Elected lieutenant governors

References

{{American Samoa Territorial constitutional officers of American Samoa *