PAGOPAGO, 23 FEBRUARY 2017 (SAMOA NEWS) —– Former Congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin, American Samoa’s longest serving non-voting Delegate to the U.S House of Representatives, has passed away at his home in Provo, Utah, according to a family member, speaking on behalf of Faleomavaega’s widow, Hinanui Hunkin.
[restrict]
Faleomavaega “passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by family and a few close friends,” said Theresa Hunkin, Faleomavaega’s sister-in-law, in a telephone interview this afternoon from Provo.
Faleomavaega, a Democrat, was unseated in the 2014 congressional race Congresswoman Aumua Amata, a Republican.
In the US House, Faleomavaega was a member of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Committee on Natural Resources.
As a member of the foreign affairs committee, he had traveled to foreign countries as a congressional representative and was well known as an ambassador for the Pacific. However, at home he received criticism for travel abroad instead of concentrating on issues pertaining to American Samoa…..PACNEWS [/restrict]