Tapunuu Niko Lee Hang (1953/1954 – 29 November 2022) 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 politician and Cabinet Minister. He was a member of the Human Rights Protection Party. Hang was an accountant by profession and a former

Public Trustee The public trustee is an office established pursuant to national (and, if applicable, state or territory) statute, to act as a trustee, usually when a sum is required to be deposited as security by legislation, if courts remove another trustee, o ...

. He was educated at

Waikato University , mottoeng = For The People , established = 1964; years ago , endowment = (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $263.6 million (31 December 2020) , chancellor = Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, KStJ , vice_chancellor = Neil Quigley , city ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and the University of New England in Australia. He was first elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Samoa The Legislative Assembly ( sm, Fono Aoao Faitulafono a Samoa), also known as the Parliament of Samoa ( sm, Palemene o Samoa), is the national legislature of Samoa, seated at Apia, where the country's central administration is situated. Samoan P ...

as one of two parliamentary representatives reserved for Individual Voters in a by-election in December 2001. In January 2002 he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary to Minister of Justice. In 2004 he was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary to minister of Revenue. He was re-elected at the 2006 election and appointed

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. He was re-elected again in the 2011 election, but replaced as Finance Minister by Faumuina Tiatia Liuga. From 2012 to 2014 Hang opposed plans to replace the individual voter seats with two urban seats. After serving a term as a backbencher, he was re-appointed to Cabinet following the 2016 election as Minister of Works Transport and Infrastructure. In September 2018 he claimed that the chief executive of the Ministry of Works, Afamasaga Su’a Pou Onesemo, had been fired for poor management. He retracted the claim two days later. Following the abolition of his urban voters seat he contested the new seat of Vaimauga No. 3 in the

2021 Samoan general election General elections were held in Samoa on 9 April 2021 to determine the composition of the 17th Parliament. In March 2021, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, a former member of the ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) and a former Deputy Prime Mini ...

and was re-elected. Tapunuu died at

Tupua Tamasese Meaole National Hospital Tupua may refer to: * The five principal gods of Niuean mythology, Fao, Fakahoko, Huanaki, Lage-iki, Lagi-atea * Tipua, a spirit in Maori mythology * Tupua Tamasese Tupua (known as Tupua Tamasese) is a state dynasty and one of the four paramount ...

Motoʻotua Motootua is a settlement in Samoa. It is home to the Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole Hospital. References

Populated places in Samoa {{Samoa-geo-stub ...

on 29 November 2022, at the age of 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee Hang, Niko 1950s births category:2022 deaths Samoan people of Chinese descent Members of the Legislative Assembly of Samoa Finance ministers of Samoa Government ministers of Samoa University of Waikato alumni University of New England (Australia) alumni Samoan civil servants Year of birth missing 21st-century Samoan politicians