The American Samoa government's Treasurer, Falema'o Pili has passed away in the U.S. state of Utah where he had been hospitalized with an undisclosed illness for several weeks.
Falema'o traveled to Utah for meetings in early April this year and was later admitted to hospital.
The acting governor, Lemanu Peleti Mauga confirmed Thursday night local time that he received the sad news about Falema'o, and the administration will issue on Friday an official statement.
Falema'o has been Treasurer since January 2013, and prior to that was the executive director for the Territorial Office of Fiscal Reform for the Togiola Administration in 2011.
He had also served as chief financial officer for both LBJ Medical Center and the American Samoa Community College.
He is a former lawmaker and had operated his own private financial consulting firm.