POLITICIANS from American Samoa

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Politicians of all time. This list of famous Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Lolo Matalasi Moliga (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 40.63, Lolo Matalasi Moliga is the most famous Politician.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages on wikipedia.

Lolo Letalu Matalasi (born August 12, 1947) is an American Samoan politician, educator, and businessman. He served as the seventh governor of American Samoa, from 2013 to 2021.

2. Tulsi Gabbard (b. 1981)

With an HPI of 34.78, Tulsi Gabbard is the 2nd most famous Politician.  Her biography has been translated into 49 different languages.

Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, former congresswoman and military officer serving as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve since 2021. Gabbard served as U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. She was a candidate in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. She left the Democratic Party in 2022 to become an independent. In 2024, she joined the Republican Party. In November 2024, President-elect Trump selected Gabbard for the position of director of national intelligence in his second term, starting January 2025. Gabbard joined the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003 and was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005, where she served as a specialist with the medical unit, and received the Combat Medical Badge. In 2007, Gabbard completed the officer training program at the Alabama Military Academy. She was stationed in Kuwait from 2008 to 2009 as an Army Military Police platoon leader. In 2015, while also serving in Congress, Gabbard became a major with the Hawaii Army National Guard. In 2020, still while serving in Congress she transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve. She was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2021. During her time in Congress, Gabbard became known for her strong stand against Islamic terrorism in the Middle East and her opposition to U.S. military intervention in the Syrian civil war. Around 2015, she often criticized the Obama administration for not using more direct rhetoric in recognizing Islamic extremism as a problem. Gabbard met with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in 2017. In a 2019 interview with MSNBC, she said, "Assad is not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States" In a subsequent interview on CNN, she said "There are brutal dictators in the world. Assad of Syria is one of them." Gabbard also served as vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2013 to 2016 but then resigned from the position to endorse Bernie Sanders for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. She briefly ran her 2020 presidential campaign, but subsequently dropped out and endorsed Joe Biden in March 2020. Gabbard was the first Samoan American member of Congress. After her departure from Congress in 2021, she took more conservative positions on issues such as abortion, foreign policy, LGBTQ rights, and border security. In August 2024, Gabbard endorsed former president Donald Trump for the 2024 United States presidential election. In November 2024, Trump announced his intention to nominate Gabbard as the director of national intelligence. If confirmed, she will become the highest-ranking Pacific Islander American government official. Her nomination drew scrutiny of her past statements on Syria, alongside concern over her comments regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine that were considered sympathetic toward Russia. Many veterans have defended her record, noting that Gabbard has honorably served in the U.S. Armed Forces for over two decades.

3. Togiola Tulafono (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 33.87, Togiola Tulafono is the 3rd most famous Politician.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Togiola Talalelei A. Tulafono (born February 28, 1947) is an American Samoan politician and lawyer who served as the sixth governor of American Samoa. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He had previously served as the seventh lieutenant governor. Tulafono was lieutenant governor when, on March 26, 2003, Governor Tauese Pita Fiti Sunia died. He then became acting governor and officially became governor on April 7, 2003. He was elected to a full 4-year term in the November 2004 gubernatorial elections and was re-elected in the November 2008 gubernatorial election. Tulafono did not run for governor in 2012 as he was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term. He was an unsuccessful candidate for American Samoa's at-large congressional district in 2014.