Malietoa Tanumafili II, the O le Ao o le Malo (head of state) of Samoa and paramount chief of the Malietoa lineage, died on 11 May 2007, aged 94. At the time of his death, he was head of state for over 45 years, having assumed the office for life when Samoa gained independence in 1962. His state funeral was held on 18 May and was attended by a significant amount of domestic and regional dignitaries.
Prior to his death, Malietoa had been treated for pneumonia at the Tupua Tamasese Meaûole National Hospital in Motoûotua, near Apia. Prime Minister Tuilaûepa Saûilele Malielegaoi visited Malietoa's relatives at the hospital on 10 May 2007, where a church service had been conducted. He died at 18:45 on 11 May (). Sources close to him said that he died as a result of "chest complications".
His death was announced on state broadcaster SBC TV1 by Secretary of State Vaûasatia Poloma Komiti, who added that Tuilaûepa would address the nation later in the day. Malietoa was survived by two sons and two daughters.
At the time of his death, Malietoa was the oldest incumbent state leader and the world's longest serving non-monarchical head of state, as well as the third longest serving incumbent state leader overall after King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. His death was the last of a series of high-ranking dignitaries in the region within the preceding years, following those of Fijian former leader Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, MÃÂori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu, Tongan monarch TÃÂufaûÃÂhau Tupou IV, and the king of the French chiefdom of Uvea, Tomasi Kulimoetoke II.
Samoa entered a state of official mourning from the time of the Malietoa's death until his state funeral, during which all Samoan flags were lowered to half-mast. Many Samoans wore white and black as a sign of respect for the Malietoa, in accordance with tradition. The government encouraged traditional Samoan dress for the funeral, specifically "a black lavalava or sulu and a white top with traditional patterns." Samoans were also asked to include the flower, the national flower of Samoa, with their mourning attire.
Malietoa's remains were taken from a private funeral home to his residence at Faûatoûialemanu on 16 May, which marked the beginning of his funeral proceedings. Members of his family attended a special private service that night. His coffin was then moved to the grounds of the Legislative Assembly building in Mulinuûu, near Apia, to lie in state on 17 May.
The state funeral was held on 18 May in Mulinuûu, in the form of an interdenominational service which combined foreign and Samoan cultural protocol. It included eulogies by Prime Minister Tuilaûepa and Malietoa's son. Following the ceremony, the coffin was taken by a police national guard for burial at his family's mausoleum. The date of the funeral was declared a national holiday.
The New Zealand delegation at the funeral was led by Governor-General Anand Satyanand, Prime Minister Helen Clark and MÃÂori King Tà «heitia Paki. Fijian foreign minister Ratu Epeli Nailatikau was allowed to transit through New Zealand to get to the funeral, bypassing an entry ban on officials from the military regime in Fiji at the time. Other foreign guests included King George Tupou V of Tonga, Governor-General of Australia Michael Jeffery, American Samoan Governor Togiola Tulafono, and officials from Tuvalu, Niue, Japan, Canada, China, South Korea and French Polynesia. The United States was represented by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs, Papaliûi David Cohen, whose title was conferred by Malietoa.
Malietoa's death created a vacancy in the office of O le Ao o le Malo; the Council of Deputies temporarily assumed acting duties until a future election to determine a permanent successor. On 17 May, the speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Tolo Fua Falemoe, announced that nomination forms had been sent to its members with a deadline of thirty-five days from notification. Two candidates who were seen as likely to succeed Malietoa were fellow paramount chiefs Tui ÃÂtua Tupua Tamasese Efi and Tuimalealiûifano Vaûaletoûa Sualauvi II, both at the time members of the Council of Deputies. On 16 June, Tui ÃÂtua, the sole nominee, was unanimously elected by the Legislative Assembly.
Following an extended period of deliberation, the Malietoa title passed to his eldest surviving son, Malietoa Moli II, having formally being decided by a court ruling in 2017. The title was initially bestowed on him unilaterally shortly after Tanumafili II's death, but this was later ruled illegal by the Lands and Titles Court.