David Kabua

Last updated
David Kabua
David Kabua (16-06-2021).jpg
Kabua in 2021
9th President of the Marshall Islands
In office
13 January 2020 3 January 2024

David Kabua (born 1951) is a Marshallese politician who served as President of the Marshall Islands from 2020 to 2024. He has represented Wotho Atoll in the Legislature of the Marshall Islands since 2008 and served terms as Minister of Health and Internal Affairs.

Contents

Early life

Kabua was born in Majuro in 1951 as the fourth child and second son of the first President of the Marshall Islands, Amata Kabua, and his wife, former First Lady Emlain Kabua. [2] [3] Kabua graduated from Xavier High School in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia in 1971, and later studied at the University of Hawaii in Manoa. [3] [4] Kabua subsequently worked as teacher aide, student liaison officer and general manager of the Marshall Islands Development Authority. He was the consul general of the Marshall Islands in Orange County, California, United States, for four years. He also worked as a private business owner for a decade. [3]

Political career

In the 2007 Marshallese general election Kabua was elected to the Legislature of the Marshall Islands for Wotho Atoll for the first time. He was re-elected in the 2011 Marshallese general election. [3] During his second term he served as Minister of Health from 2012 and 2013 [5] [6] and in 2014 he was made Minister of Internal Affairs in a cabinet reshuffle. [7] He was once again elected in the 2015 Marshallese general election. [3] He was Minister in Assistance to the President of Marshall Islands in the cabinet of Casten Nemra in January 2016. [8]

During the 2019 Marshallese general election he was re-elected for Wotho Atoll with 120 votes. [9] On 6 January 2020 Kabua was elected President of the Marshall Islands by the national legislature by a vote of 20–12 with one abstention. He succeeded Hilda Heine, who was seeking a second term, but lost in the first session vote. [10] Kabua said that combating climate change, negotiating with the US regarding the extension of a funding arrangement that expires in 2024 and addressing the issue of Runit Dome as the top priorities of his presidency. [11] Meaghan Tobin, writing for the South China Morning Post described Kabua as a moderate politician who would continue the country's relationship with Taiwan. [12]

In September 2020, in the lead up to the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations Kabua wrote a public letter to The Guardian in which he warned about the risks of climate change to his country, stating that his country could disappear. [13]

On 3 January 2024 Hilda Heine took over the presidency from Kabua. [14]

Cabinet

Kabua and his cabinet were sworn into office by Chief Justice Carl Ingram of the High Court of the Marshall Islands on 13 January 2020. [15]

MinistryMinisterPeriod
Minister in Assistance to the President and of Environment Christopher Loeak 13 January 2020
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Casten Nemra 13 January 2020
Minister of Health and Human Services Bruce Bilimon 13 January 2020
Minister of Finance, Banking and Postal Service Alfred Alfred Jr. 13 January 2020
Minister of Transportation, Communication and Information Technology Donald Capelle 13 January 2020
Minister of Works, Infrastructure and Utilities Jiba Kabua 13 January 2020
Minister of Justice, Immigration and Labor Kessai Note 13 January 2020
Minister of Culture and Internal Affairs Jemi Nashion 13 January 2020
Minister of Education, Sports and Training Kitlang Kabua 13 January 2020
Minister of Natural Resources and Commerce Sandy Alfred 13 January 2020

Personal life

Kabua is married to Ginger Kabua. Together, they have three children. [1] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Islands</span> Country near the equator in the Pacific Ocean

The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 coral atolls and five islands, divided across two island chains: Ratak in the east and Ralik in the west. 97.87% of its territory is water, the largest proportion of water to land of any sovereign state. The country shares maritime boundaries with Wake Island to the north, Kiribati to the southeast, Nauru to the south, and the Federated States of Micronesia to the west. The capital and largest city is Majuro, home to approximately half of the country's population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legislature of the Marshall Islands</span> National legislature of the Marshall Islands

The Legislature of the Marshall Islands has 33 members, elected for a four-year term in nineteen single-seat and five multi-seat constituencies. The last election was November 20, 2023. Elections in the Marshall Islands are officially nonpartisan, but most members of the Nitijeļā are affiliated with one of the four active political parties in the Marshall Islands: Aelon Kein Ad (AKA), Kien Eo Am (KEA), United People's Party (UPP), and United Democratic Party (UDP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of the Marshall Islands</span>

The government of the Marshall Islands operates under a mixed parliamentary-presidential system as set forth in its Constitution. Elections are held every four years in universal suffrage, with each of the 24 constituencies electing one or more representatives (senators) to the lower house of RMI's unicameral legislature, the Nitijela. The President, who is head of state as well as head of government, is elected by the 33 senators of the Nitijela. Four of the five Marshallese presidents who have been elected since the Constitution was adopted in 1979 have been traditional paramount chiefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Litokwa Tomeing</span> Former President of the Marshall Islands

Iroij Litokwa Tomeing was the President of the Marshall Islands from January 2008 until October 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruben Zackhras</span> Marshallese politician (1947–2018)

Ruben R. Zackhras was a Marshallese politician. He was acting President of the Marshall Islands from 21 October 2009 to 26 October 2009. He previously served as Minister of Finance from 1992 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jurelang Zedkaia</span> Marshallese politician (1950–2015)

Iroijlaplap Jurelang Zedkaia was a Marshallese politician and Iroijlaplap. He served as the President of the Marshall Islands from 2009 to 2012. He was elected as the country's 5th head of state on October 26, 2009, following the ouster of his predecessor, Litokwa Tomeing, in the country's first successful vote of no confidence.

Anjua Loeak was one of the Iroijlaplap of Ailinglaplap, and one of four paramount chiefs in the Ralik Chain. Loeak shared his domain with the Iroijlaplap of Kwajalein, formerly Imata Kabua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Loeak</span> Marshallese politician

Christopher Jorebon Loeak is a Marshallese politician who was the President of the Marshall Islands from 2012 to 2016. He was elected by parliament as President in January 2012, following the 2011 general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilda Heine</span> Marshallese politician

Hilda Cathy Heine is a Marshallese educator and politician who has been serving as the president of the Marshall Islands since 2024, having previously served from 2016 to 2020. Prior to assuming office, she served as the Minister of Education. She was the first individual from the Marshall Islands to earn a doctoral degree, and the founder of the women's rights group Women United Together Marshall Islands (WUTMI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Marshallese general election</span>

General elections were held in the Marshall Islands on 16 November 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casten Nemra</span> Marshallese politician

Casten Ned Nemra is a Marshallese politician who was President of the Marshall Islands for 17 days in January 2016. He was elected by the Nitijeļā (Parliament) as President in January 2016, following the 2015 general election, narrowly defeating Senator Alvin Jacklick, a seven-term member of Parliament, by a 17–16 vote. He was the youngest person to hold the job and the second commoner. He was ousted by a vote of no confidence after just two weeks in office by the opposition for jumping ship and joining Iroij Mike Kabua's Aelon Kein Ad party along with Senators Dennis Momotaro and Daisy-Alik Momotaro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Kedi</span> Marshallese politician

Kenneth A. Kedi is a Marshallese politician. He was Speaker of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands between 2016 and 2024, having been re-elected in 2020. Kedi is a member of the Kien Eo Ad (KEA) party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amenta Matthew</span> Marshallese politician

Amenta Matthew is a Marshallese politician. She was a member of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands from 2007 to 2011 and from 2015 to 2019, representing the electorate of Utrik. She was Minister of Health under Presidents Litokwa Tomeing and Jurelang Zedkaia from 2008 to 2011 and Minister of Internal Affairs under Hilda Heine from 2016 to 2019. She was the second woman in the Marshall Islands to serve as a government minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Marshallese general election</span>

General elections were held in the Marshall Islands on 18 November 2019. Opponents of President Hilda Heine won a majority of seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Capelle</span> Marshallese politician

Donald F. Capelle is a Marshallese politician. He was Speaker of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands from 2012 to 2016. In January 2020 Capelle became Minister of Transportation, Communication and Information Technology in the cabinet of President David Kabua.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitlang Kabua</span> Marshallese politician

Kitlang Kabua is a Marshallese politician. She was elected to the Legislature of the Marshall Islands (Nitijeļā) for Kwajalein in the 2019 Marshallese general election, receiving 931 votes. She was 28 at the time of her election, making her the youngest person ever elected to the Nitijeļā. Kabua and former President Hilda Heine were the only two women who obtained a seat. She subsequently was appointed Minister of Education, Sports and Training in the cabinet of her uncle President David Kabua. Kabua took her oath of office on 13 January 2020. The formal inauguration of the cabinet took place on 20 January.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brenson Wase</span> Marshallese politician

Brenson S. Wase is a Marshallese politician and a long-time member of the cabinet and senator in Nitijela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Marshallese general election</span>

General elections were held in the Marshall Islands on 20 November 2023, alongside a constitutional referendum.

Alfred Alfred Jr. is a Marshallese politician serving Ailinglaplap Atoll in Nitijela. He was elected in the 2015 election.

References

  1. 1 2 Johnson, Giff (20 January 2020). "Marshalls' President Kabua's inauguration set for Monday". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020.
  2. Loeak, Anono Lieom; Kiluwe, Veronica C.; Crowl, Linda (September 14, 2004). Life in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. editorips@usp.ac.fj. ISBN   9789820203648 via Google Books.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "President". Office of the President and Cabinet. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020.
  4. "Members". Legislature of the Marshall Islands. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020.
  5. "Presidential Cabinet". Rmiembassyus.org. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  6. Inc., IBP (4 April 2013). Marshall Islands Land Ownership and Agricultural Laws Handbook - Strategic Information and Basic Laws. Lulu.com. p. 22. ISBN   978-1-4387-5952-4.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. "Marshall Islands - Marshall Islands President Christopher Loeak has defeated a second vote of no confidence last Tuesday, by a vote of 17-13". Tfbmicronesia.com. 19 March 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  8. "President Resigns After Vote". www.infomarshallislands.com. 26 January 2016.
  9. "RMI Final Election Results". Marshall Islands Guide. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020.
  10. "New president for Marshall Islands". Radio New Zealand. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  11. "Marshalls' president-elect anticipating challenging term". Radio New Zealand. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  12. Tobin, Meaghan (6 January 2020). "Marshall Islands' new president David Kabua likely to keep diplomatic ties with Taiwan". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 8 June 2020.
  13. "The climate crisis will sweep away my country if the world doesn't keep its promises". The Guardian. 20 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020.
  14. "Hilda Heine sworn-in as President of the Marshall Islands". Radio New Zealand. 3 January 2024. Archived from the original on 4 January 2024.
  15. "New RMI leaders sworn in". The Marshall Islands Journal. 16 January 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by President of the Marshall Islands
2020–2024
Succeeded by