{{Short description|Governor of American Samoa}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Owen Stuart Aspinall | honorific_suffix = | image = Owen Aspinall.jpg | alt = | caption = | order = 45th | office = Governor of American Samoa | term_start = August 1, 1967 | term_end = July 31, 1969 | lieutenant = | predecessor = [[Hyrum Rex Lee]] | successor = [[John Morse Haydon]] | office2 = Secretary of American Samoa | term_start2 = November 1962 | term_end2 = July 31, 1967 | governor2 = [[Hyrum Rex Lee]] | office3 = [[Attorney General of American Samoa]] | term_start3 = 1961 | term_end3 = November 1962 | governor3 = [[Hyrum Rex Lee]] | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|9|21}} | birth_place = [[Grand Junction, Colorado|Grand Junction]], [[Colorado]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1997|2|7|1927|9|21}} | death_place = [[Mesa County, Colorado|Mesa County]], [[Colorado]] | resting_place = Orchard Mesa Cemetery | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | spouse = [[Taotafa Lutu Aspinall]] | alma_mater = [[University of Denver]] (BA)<br>[[American University]] (LLB) | occupation = Attorney | signature = | signature_alt = <!--Military service--> | nickname = | allegiance = {{flag|United States}} | branch = {{nowrap|[[File:United States Department of the Army Seal.svg|30px|United States Army Seal]]}} [[United States Army]] | service_years = | rank = | unit = [[504th Infantry Regiment (United States)|504th Infantry Regiment]]; [[82nd Airborne Division]] | commands = | battles = | awards = }}
'''Owen Stuart Aspinall''' (September 21, 1927 – February 7, 1997) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 45th [[Governor of American Samoa]] from August 1, 1967, to July 31, 1969. He was born in [[Grand Junction, Colorado]]; his father was longtime [[United States House of Representatives|United States Representative]] [[Wayne N. Aspinall]]. After serving in the [[United States Army]] during [[World War II]], Aspinall earned his [[Bachelor of Laws]] from [[American University]]. He served in three government positions before becoming the Governor of American Samoa: the [[District attorney|Deputy District Attorney]] of [[Mesa County, Colorado]]; [[Attorney General of American Samoa]]; and eventually [[Secretary of American Samoa]], the islands' equivalent of a [[lieutenant governor]].
While governor, Aspinall dealt with a number of issues, including educational system reform and the subsequent resignation of many teachers and school personnel. He signed a bill from the [[American Samoa Fono]] that would eventually give American Samoa a [[List of Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from American Samoa|Delegate to the United States House of Representatives]] in the 1980s. He made a number of controversial decisions, including forbidding [[Korean people|Korean]] and [[Samoan people|Samoan]] intermarriage. He helped bring an end to extreme violence between Korean and Chinese fisherman in Samoan waters.
==Life== Aspinall was born on September 21, 1927, in [[Grand Junction, Colorado]].<ref name=Tapuitea>{{cite journal|last=Sorensen|first=Stan|title=Historical Notes|journal=Tapuitea|date=26 September 2008|volume=III|issue=38|url=http://americansamoa.gov/tap08/Tapuitea080926.pdf|access-date=6 June 2010|page=4|publisher=[[Government of American Samoa]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081107041744/https://www.americansamoa.gov/tap08/Tapuitea080926.pdf|archive-date=7 November 2008}}</ref> His father was Wayne N. Aspinall, [[United States House of Representatives|United States Representative]] from [[Colorado's 4th congressional district]] and his mother Julia Edith Kuns Aspinall.<ref name=TTN>{{cite news|title=Governor of Samoa Being Eased from Job|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mV80AAAAIBAJ&sjid=B5wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7419,1966044&dq=owen-aspinall&hl=en|access-date=6 June 2010|newspaper=[[The Tuscaloosa News]]|date=11 June 1969|agency=[[The New York Times Company]]|location=[[Tuscaloosa, Alabama]]|page=8}}</ref> Following his military service, Aspinall attended the [[University of Denver]], graduating with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in [[Anthropology]] in 1949.<ref name=Tapuitea/> He graduated with a [[Bachelor of Laws]] from [[American University]] in 1955, and set up a [[law practice]].<ref name=Tapuitea/> He spent many years in [[American Samoa]], and married a [[Samoans|Samoan]] woman in December 1966.<ref name=TTN/><ref name=pure/>
===Military service=== During [[World War II]], Aspinall served with the [[504th Infantry Regiment (United States)|504th Infantry Regiment]], an [[Airborne forces|airborne force]]. Later in the war, he served with the [[82nd Airborne Division]].<ref name=Tapuitea/>
==Political career== His first political post was as [[District attorney|Deputy District Attorney]] of [[Mesa County, Colorado]], which he held from 1957 to 1961. He went on to become the [[Attorney General of American Samoa]] later in 1961. In November 1962, he became the [[Secretary of American Samoa]], the second-in-command of the Samoan executive branch.<ref name=Tapuitea/>
==Governorship== Aspinall became [[Governor of American Samoa]] on August 1, 1967. As governor, he came into conflict with the [[National Association of Educational Broadcasters]] over how the local school systems were run, and refused to renew the organization's contract. This caused many school teachers and administrators to resign their posts.<ref name=TTN/> He was accused of [[wiretapping]] phones on the islands, but none of his critics were able to produce evidence of any activity.<ref name=TTN/> He signed a bill out of the [[American Samoa Fono]] into law, against the wishes of the [[Department of the Interior]], to send a [[List of Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from American Samoa|Delegate to the United States House of Representatives from American Samoa]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Faleomavaega|first=Eni|title=Washington, D.C.—Faleomavaega Responds to Senator Te'o and Samoan Republican Party|url=http://www.house.gov/list/press/as00_faleomavaega/Replytoteoandrepublicanparty.html|publisher=[[United States House of Representatives]]|access-date=6 June 2010|location=[[Washington, D.C.]]|date=17 October 2003}}</ref>
Along with traditionally garbed island chiefs, Aspinall was one of the first officials to greet and congratulate the crew of [[Apollo 10]] after the success of their mission.<ref>{{cite news|title=Minor Shift in Course Puts Apollo on Target for Landing in the Pacific|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=THc1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=rwEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6067,6838495&dq=owen-aspinall&hl=en|access-date=6 June 2010|newspaper=[[The Blade (Toledo)|The Blade]]|date=26 May 1969|agency=[[Block Communications]]|location=[[Toledo, Ohio]]|page=1}}</ref>
He drew criticism for forbidding a Samoan woman from marrying a [[Koreans|Korean]] man; the two sued the governor. Aspinall defended his decision by stating he was keeping disgruntled fishermen from jumping ship in Samoa; he sought to keep Samoa "for Samoans", despite the fact that he married a Samoan woman himself.<ref name=pure>{{cite news|title=Island Must Be 'Samoa-Pure'|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xg0mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=j1oDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5441,1431553&dq=owen-aspinall&hl=en|access-date=6 June 2010|newspaper=[[St. Petersburg Times]]|date=3 November 1967|agency=[[Times Publishing Company]]|location=[[St. Petersburg, Florida]]|page=4}}</ref>
Aspinall had to contend with violent clashes between Korean and Chinese ethnic groups who fought with knives and clubs off the shore. He requested [[riot gear]] to put down the violence. The incidents began when a Korean fishing boat rammed a Chinese one, ultimately causing it to sink in the storm<!--what storm? this is the first mention-->. The governor had to separate [[Japan]]ese, Chinese, and Korean vessels to keep the fishing companies running between the islands.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bloody Clashes Trouble Samoa|location=[[New York City]]|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=28 January 1968|agency=[[The New York Times Company]]|page=6}}</ref> At one point, Aspinall had to close the port of [[Pago Pago]].<ref>{{cite news|title=U.S. Official in Samoa Says Fisherman Settle Dispute|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=31 January 1968|agency=[[The New York Times Company]]|location=[[New York City]]|page=9}}</ref>
When [[Richard Nixon]] became [[President of the United States]], Aspinall handed in a ''[[pro forma]]'' resignation, as the [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] was likely to soon replace him with a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]].<ref name=TTN/> His term as governor ended on July 31, 1969.<ref>{{cite web|title=Owen S. Aspinall|url=http://americansamoa.gov/governors/aspinall.htm|work=Governors|publisher=[[Government of American Samoa]]|access-date=6 June 2010|year=2009}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-gov}} {{succession box |before=[[Hyrum Rex Lee]] |title=[[List of American Samoa Governors|Governor of American Samoa]] |years=1967–69 |after=[[John Morse Haydon]]|}} {{s-end}}
{{Governors of American Samoa}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspinall, Owen Stuart}} [[Category:1927 births]] [[Category:1997 deaths]] [[Category:Governors of American Samoa]] [[Category:People from Grand Junction, Colorado]] [[Category:Military personnel from Colorado]] [[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]] [[Category:District attorneys in Colorado]] [[Category:Attorneys general of American Samoa]] [[Category:University of Denver alumni]] [[Category:American University Washington College of Law alumni]] [[Category:American Samoa Democrats]] [[Category:Colorado Democrats]] [[Category:20th-century American politicians]]