FUNERAL AND MEMORIAL SERVICE PLANNED FOR SAMOAN HEAD OF STATE

APIA, Samoa, 14 May 2007 (BWNS) -- A state funeral is planned for 18
May for the Samoan head of state, His Highness Susuga Malietoa
Tanumafili
II, to be followed on 20 May by a memorial service at the Baha'i
House
of Worship near Apia. He passed away on the evening of 11 May in a
hospital in Apia.

A follower of the Baha'i Faith, he was one of the longest reigning
monarchs in the world. He was 94 years old.

"His service to the people of Samoa as Head of State was
distinguished
by the high principles, genuine compassion and personal humility that
characterized the constancy of his concern for the welfare of all,"
the
Universal House of Justice, the international Baha'i governing body,
said in a statement to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Baha'is of
Samoa.

"As the first reigning sovereign to accept the Message of
Baha'u'llah,
he set a record that will forever illumine the annals of our Faith,
one
that future generations will increasingly extol," the House of
Justice
said. "His great interest for well-nigh four decades in the Faith's
progress was reflected in the enthusiastic affirmation of his belief
whenever the opportunity presented itself and in the abiding joy with
which
he regarded the construction in 1984 of the Mother Temple of the
Pacific Islands in Samoa...."

He himself participated in the dedication of that temple, one of only
seven such Baha'i houses of worship in the world. The other six,
located
in Australia, India, Germany, Uganda, the United States, and Panama,
will also hold services in his memory.

He had been head of state since the country gained independence from
New Zealand in 1962.

The state funeral will be at 10 a.m. on 18 May in front of the
Parliament Building, with a government-organized prayer service the
day before.
Entombment will be in the Malietoa Family crypt a few meters from the
Parliament building.

The memorial service at the Baha'i House of Worship near Apia will be
on 20 May, organized by the Baha'i assembly. Earlier, on 13 May, a
prayer service was held, attended by more than 200 Baha'is, family,
friends, government officials, and representatives of churches and
the
diplomatic community.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark was one of the first to offer
condolences. "Throughout his long reign as Head of State, Malietoa
represented Samoa with wisdom, humor, and insight," she said in
comments
published in the New Zealand Herald.

His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II was born on 4 January
1913.
His wife, Lili Tunu, died in 1986. They have two sons and two
daughters.

Samoa comprises several islands in the South Pacific about halfway
between New Zealand and Hawaii. The population is about 200,000.

__________________
"it benefits us to be thoughtful, not of the glory of our minds, but rather, above all else, of the glory of God."
- Johannes Kepler

My condolences for the loss to your faith and his family and friends. He sounds like he was an amazing man.