Tanumafili II held the position of O le Ao o le Malo — Head of State of Samoa — from independence in 1962 until his death in 2007, making him at that point the world's longest-serving head of state. He was also the first ruling head of state to convert to the Bahá'í Faith, in 1968. The 1997 "War and Peace" issue falls within a broader Pacific commemorative silver program that proliferated through the 1990s, largely marketed to collectors rather than circulated domestically.
Tanumafili II held the position of O le Ao o le Malo — Head of State of Samoa — from independence in 1962 until his death in 2007, making him at that point the world's longest-serving head of state. He was also the first ruling head of state to convert to the Bahá'í Faith, in 1968. The 1997 "War and Peace" issue falls within a broader Pacific commemorative silver program that proliferated through the 1990s, largely marketed to collectors rather than circulated domestically.