Harry Percival Vete

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Harry Percival Vete (also known as Hale Vete) was a Tongan businessman, politician, and member of the Legislative Assembly of Tonga.[1] He was an early member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Tonga.

Vete trained as a lawyer, and started a business in 1934. By 1949 he owned two stores, three trucks, and a taxi service.[1] He was elected to the Legislative Assembly as one of three people's Representatives for Tongatapu at the 1948 Tongan general election.[2] He was re-elected in the 1954 election.[3]

Vete and his wife were the first Tongans to go to the temple of the Church. Vete was baptized in 1926.[4] In 1949 Vete, his wife, and child traveled to the United States where they were sealed in the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple.[1][5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Gordon B. Hinckley (8 May 1949). "Tongan Convert Brings Records of His People To Depository in Zion". Deseret News. p. 10C. Retrieved 24 September 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Tonga Elects New Parliament: History of the Growth of Democracy Recalled". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XVIII, no. 12. 19 July 1948. p. 21. Retrieved 24 September 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Tongan Women Missed Their Vote". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXIV, no. 12. 1 July 1954. p. 90. Retrieved 24 September 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ Riley M. Moffat; Fred E. Woods; Brent D. Anderson (2019). Saints of Tonga: A Century of Island Faith (PDF). BYU Religious Studies Center. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-9443-9488-2.
  5. ^ "Tonga Isle Family". The Bulletin. March 11, 1949. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.