Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole

Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole (3 June 1905 – 5 April 1963) was O le Ao o le Malo (head of state) of Western Samoa, serving jointly with Malietoa Tanumafili II from its independence in 1962 until his death the following year. He succeeded to the Tupua Tamasese title in 1929, following the assassination of Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III.

Early and personal life He was born in Vaimoso in 1905, one of three sons of the paramount chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi I. He was educated at the Marist school in Apia. In 1929, he was installed as Tupua Tamasese when his elder brother and Mau leader, Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III was assassinated by colonial police during a Mau parade in Apia. In the 1957 New Year Honours he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

In preparations for independence, Tamasese chaired the constitutional conventions of 1954 and 1960. Following his death, his family conferred the title of Tupua Tamasese on his eldest nephew, Tupua Tamasese Lealofi IV, who would go on to become the second Prime Minister of Samoa. As head of state, he was survived by Malietoa, who became the lone holder of the office.