Paramount chief

A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and archaeological theory to refer to the rulers of multiple chiefdoms or the rulers of exceptionally powerful chiefdoms that have subordinated others.

During the Victorian era, paramount chief was a formal title created by British colonial administrators in the British Empire and applied in Britain's colonies in Asia and Africa. They used it as a substitute for the word "king" to ensure that only the British monarch held that title; in colonized countries without a tradition of Chiefdom, such as the Federated Malay States and the Princely States of the British Raj, the word "ruler" was used instead of "king" for similar reasons. Since the title "chief" was already used in terms of district and town administrators, the addition of "paramount" was made so as to distinguish between the ruling monarch and the local aristocracy. , for their chief between 283 and 289 and was used as a state title by the Rouran confederation.

It was subsequently adopted by the Göktürks before Turkic peoples and the Mongols brought it to the rest of Asia. In the middle of the sixth century it was known as "Kagan – King of the Turks" to the Persians.

In Oceania

thumb|130px|right|[[Samoan paramount chief Mata'afa Iosefo (1832–1912)]]

New Zealand

Ariki Nui of Ngati Tuwharetoa, a Māori tribe in the central North Island – a hereditary chieftainship which still has great influence. In the 1850s the Māori King Movement resulted in the election of a Waikato chief as Māori King.

Cook Islands

Cook Islands, the paramount chief of the Cook Islands was an ariki of the Makea Nui dynasty, a chiefdom of the Te Au O Tonga tribe in Rarotonga, the Kingdom of Rarotonga was established in 1858 and ended in 1888.

Fiji

during the October–December 1987 secession agitation on one island, known as the Republic of Rotuma, led by Henry Gibson (remained in New Zealand), his style was Gagaj Sau Lagfatmaro, rendered as Paramount chief or King of the Molmahao Clan. NB: This title was not recognised by the Rotuma Island Council as the titles Gagaja and Sau have never been used together. The closest thing to a paramount chief is the position of Fakpure, currently belonging to the district chief (gagaj 'es itu'u) of Noa'tau.
the British Sovereign was recognized as "Paramount Chief", even after the country became a republic on 7 October 1987; however, this was not an office of state.

Polynesia

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) paramount chief or king, the ariki henua or ariki mau*.
Samoa, paramount titles in the fa'amatai chiefly system include; Malietoa, Mata'afa, Tupua Tamasese and Tuimaleali'ifano.
American Samoa, paramount chief titles in the fa'amatai chiefly system include; Tui Manu'a, Le'iato.

Sources and references

WorldStatesmen see each present country