Tuimalealiʻifano is one of the four paramount chiefly titles of

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

, known as the '' tama a ʻāiga''. Samoa's other three paramount chiefs are

Malietoa Mālietoa ( ''Mālietoa'') is a state dynasty and one of the four paramount chiefly titles of Samoa. It is the titular head of one of the two great royal families of Samoa: Sā Malietoa. Literally translated as "great warrior", the title's orig ...

Mataʻafa Matāʻafa is one of the four paramount ''tama a ʻāiga'' (maximal lineage) titles of Samoa.Tupua Tamasese Tupua Tamasese, formally known as Tupua, is a State (polity), state dynasty and one of the four paramount Fa'amatai, chiefly titles of Samoa, known as the ''Tamaʻāiga, tama a ʻāiga''. It is the titular head of one of Samoa's two ...

. The seat of the Tuimalealiʻifano title is at Falelatai in the Aʻana district. The current title-holder is

Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Sualauvi II Afioga Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Eti Sualauvi II (born 29 April 1947) is a Samoan politician who is the current O le Ao o le Malo (head of state) of Samoa, in office since 2017. Biography He is a great-grandson of one of the Mau movement ...

, who has held the title since 1977 and currently serves as the head of state of Samoa (

O le Ao o le Malo The Independent State of Samoa ( Samoan for "Chief of the government") is the ceremonial head of state of Samoa. The position is described in Part III of the 1960 Samoan constitution. At the time the constitution was adopted, it was anticipa ...

Origins

The title is the most recent of the ''tama a ʻāiga'', originating in the mid-nineteenth century with Tuiaana Sualauvi, a nephew of

Fitisemanu I. Sualauvi was appointed ''Tui Aʻana'' in 1848. By the early 1860s he had also been appointed to the pāpā titles of Gatoaitele and Vaetamasoalii. In 1869, he obtained the support of Fuataga and Tafua of Aleipata and Moeono and Tusa of Falefa and Lufilufi and was appointed ''Tui Ātua'', briefly ascending to the position of ''Tupu Tafaʻifa''. His reign would only last a year until his death on 25 August 1870. After Sualauvi's death, his youngest son Faʻaoloiʻi succeeded, and was referred to by the name Tuimalealiʻifano, a contraction of Tui, from Tuitaʻalili, and Lealiʻifano, whose origins are disputed. Tuimalealiʻifano Faʻaoloiʻi Siʻuaʻana I lived until 1937, surviving the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and colonial rule by Germany and New Zealand. Following his death the title was disputed, and in 1949 the Land and Titles Court of Samoa ruled that it belonged to the descendants of Tuiaana Sualauvi. The title was again contested following the death of

Tuiaana Tuimalealiʻifano Suatipatipa II Tuiaana Tuimalealiʻifano Suatipatipa II (1914 – 24 July 1974) was a Western Samoan paramount chief, politician and church elder. For most of the period between 1962 and 1974 he was the only member of the Council of Deputies, whose members se ...

Holders

* Tuimalealiʻifano Faʻaoloiʻi Siʻuaʻana I (1871–1937) *Tuimalealiʻifano Faʻaoloiʻi Siʻuaʻana II (Siʻuaʻana's eldest son, held title for nine months) *

(1952–1974) (son of Siʻuaʻana I) *

(1977–present)

References

{{Reflist Tuimalealiʻifano