Frank Barnett, American politician, Died at 82

  Politician

Frank Elliott Barnett was born on July 20, 1933, and died on July 15, 2016.
He was the 49th Governor of American Samoa from October 1, 1976 to May 27, 1977.
Prior to him becoming a governor, Frank was a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and a Tennessee attorney.
Barnett served as the first Lieutenant Governor of American Samoa for two years prior to his governorship.
As a Governor, there was 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.
Which was stimulated by 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.
Later, he resided in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Frank Barnett passed away at 82 years old.