A distinguished Samoan educator, scholar and historian, Aiono Dr Fanaafi Le Tagaloa, has died at the age of 82.
Talamua online reports that her death was confirmed by her husband, the former cabinet minister Le Tagaloa Pita.
Fanaafi was a pioneering Samoan educator and a respected authority on Samoan culture and language who obtained a PhD in educational philosophy and applied linguistics from the University of London.
Fanaafi also served as an MP, entering parliament at the 1985 general election where she helped formulate bi-cultural and bi-lingual education during her tenure as Director of Education.
In 1997 she went on to found the Indigenous University of Samoa where the curriculum is taught in Samoan.
