Frank Barnett

Frank Elliott Barnett was the 49th Governor of American Samoa from October 1, 1976, to May 27, 1977. Before becoming governor, he was a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and a Tennessee attorney. He served as the first Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa for two years prior to his governorship. While Governor, a number of Samoans signed a petition accusing him of abusing local officials; others signed a counter-petition supporting him, and the charges were eventually dropped. This arose from his firing of Mere Betham, a native who had been serving as Samoan Director of Education, an action he defended as necessary to improve education on the island, but others decried as racist; Barnett reinstated Betham one week after dismissing her.