Amata Catherine Coleman Radewagen ( ; born December 29, 1947), commonly called Aumua Amata ( ), is an

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

n politician who is the current delegate for the

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. Radewagen, a Republican, was elected on November 4, 2014, after defeating Democratic incumbent Eni Faleomavaega; she was the first-ever Republican delegate since the office had been created in 1970 and began her tenure on January 3, 2015. She also serves as the national committeewoman for the Republican Party of American Samoa. Amata is the first woman to represent American Samoa in the U.S. Congress. By winning 75.4% of the vote in her 2016 re-election, Aumua Amata attained the highest number of votes in American Samoa history. She won reelection with 83.3 percent of the votes in a three-way race in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

. She has been the scheduling director for the United States House of Representatives majority leadership for eight years. Radewagen has been the most senior member of the Republican National Committee since 2012. She was a member of both the executive committee for the 2016–17 presidential transition and the executive committee for the 2017 Republican National Committee Chairman's Transition Committee.

Early life and education

Amata Catherine Coleman Radewagen is the daughter of Peter Tali Coleman, the first popularly-elected Governor of American Samoa, and Nora Stewart Coleman, the former First Lady of American Samoa. Her father was Samoan; her mother was of Chinese, German,

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, and Scottish descent. Radewagen has twelve siblings. She attended Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu, Hawaii, for secondary education and graduated with a degree in psychology from the

University of Guam University of Guam () (U.O.G.) is a public university, public land-grant university in Mangilao, Guam. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and offers thirty-four degree programs at the undergraduate level and ele ...

in 1975. She also took classes at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, and

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

in Fairfax, Virginia. She married Fred Radewagen in December 1971. The couple has three children and two grandchildren.Congress, Joint Committee on Printing (2016). ''Congressional Directory 2015-2016''. United States Congress. Page 300. . Radewagen holds the orator ( talking chief) title of ''Aumua'' from the capital of Pago Pago—her hometown and where she is a registered voter. From 1984 to 1997, Amata was the chief diplomatic correspondent for the ''Washington Pacific Report''.

Political career

Aumua Amata has been an executive assistant to the first Delegate-at-Large from American Samoa. From 1997 to 1999, Radewagen served on the staff of United States Representative Phil Crane of

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."RADEWAGEN, Aumua Amata Coleman"
'' Biographical Directory of the United States Congress''. Retrieved April 2, 2015. She served on the staff of United States Representative J. C. Watts, Jr. of

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from 1999 to 2003. After that, she served on the staff of the House Republican Conference from 2003 to 2005. Radewagen first ran for Congress in the 1994 elections against Democrat Eni F. H. Faleomavaega. She failed to gain the nomination of the Republican Party of American Samoa in 1996 and 2000, and she ran as an independent in the 1998 elections. Radewagen was appointed in 2001, by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, as a Commissioner on the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI); she chaired the Community Security Committee."Biography"
''U.S. Representative Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen''. Retrieved April 15, 2015. Radewagen was the only Pacific Islander on the 15-member commission. Since 1994, Radewagen has participated in every federal election. She was the first woman to run for the delegate position. Since 1986, she has represented the American Samoa Republican Party in the Republican National Committee. Radewagen is the most senior member. In 2019, she was reappointed by President Donald Trump to serve on the President's Advisory Commission for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for a second stint.

United States House of Representatives

2014 election

Radewagen ran for American Samoa's at-large congressional district in the 2014 elections. She defeated the Democratic incumbent Delegate Eni Faleomavaega, 42% to 31%; former Democratic governor Togiola Tulafono finished third at 11% in the nine-way contest.

2016 election

Radewagen was re-elected in 2016, receiving the highest number of votes in American Samoa history for any elective office, winning 75.4% of the vote cast.

Tenure

Radewagen assumed office on January 3, 2015. Upon taking office, she became the Republican Party's highest-ranking Asian-Pacific federal officeholder in the United States. Radewagen has a bipartisan track record. She was ranked the 28th and 14th most bipartisan Representative in the 114th and 115th United States Congresses, respectively, by The Lugar Center and McCourt School of Public Policy's Bipartisan Index.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Foreign Affairs ** Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations ** Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific (vice chair) * Committee on Natural Resources ** Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs ** Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries * Committee on Veterans' Affairs (vice chair) ** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations ** Subcommittee on Health

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Western Caucus * Climate Solutions Caucus * Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans

Election results

*''Note: Elections in American Samoa are nonpartisan and candidates are not listed with party affiliation. Partisan identification is for informational purposes''

Other activity

Radewagen has been involved in helping build democratic institutions internationally. As a trainer since 1992, she has participated in missions to

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, and

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for the International Republican Institute and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, among other activities. She began advocating on behalf of breast cancer awareness after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1993. She is a founding member of the American Samoa Society and a life member of the Capitol Hill Club. She has also been a member of organizations such as the Guam Society of America, Hawaii State Society, Women's Foreign Policy Group, and the Independent Women's Forum. She is a current member of the Pan Pacific and Southeast Asia Women's Association. In 2003, Radewagen became the first Pacific Islander chosen as “Outstanding Woman of the Year” by the National Association of Professional Asian American Women (NAPAW). In 2008, she received the International Leadership Foundation's Visionary Award. In 2013, she received both the Inspirational Speaker Award at the Samoan Athletes Heart of Champions Ceremony in La Mesa, CA, as well as the Trailblazer Award from the Republican National Convention. She is a current board member at the Field House 100 American Samoa.

References

External links

U.S. Representative Aumua Amata
official U.S. House website * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Radewagen, Amata Coleman Living people 1947 births Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from American Samoa Female members of the United States House of Representatives Republican National Committee members Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from American Samoa American Samoa Republicans American Samoan Roman Catholics American Samoan women in politics 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians University of Guam alumni American Samoan people of Chinese descent American Samoan people of German descent American Samoan people of Native Hawaiian descent American Samoan people of Scottish descent Members of the United States House of Representatives of Asian descent Native Hawaiian people People from Pago Pago Candidates in the 1994 United States elections Candidates in the 1996 United States elections Candidates in the 1998 United States elections Candidates in the 2000 United States elections Candidates in the 2002 United States elections Candidates in the 2004 United States elections Candidates in the 2006 United States elections Candidates in the 2008 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Candidates in the 2012 United States elections Asian conservatism in the United States 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives Samoan people of German descent American people of German-Samoan descent