The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country and an associated state of the United States near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line. Geographically, the country is part of the larger island group of Micronesia. The country's population of 58,413 people is spread out over 29 coral atolls, comprising 1,156 individual islands and islets. The capital and largest city is Majuro. It has the largest portion of its territory made of water of any sovereign state, at 97.87%.
Majuro is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The atoll has a land area of 9.7 square kilometres (3.7 sq mi) and encloses a lagoon of 295 square kilometres (114 sq mi). As with other atolls in the Marshall Islands, Majuro consists of narrow land masses. It has a tropical trade wind climate, with an average temperature of 27 °C (81 °F).
Kessai Hesa Note was President of the Marshall Islands from 2000 to 2008.
The Legislature of the Marshall Islands has 33 members, elected for a four-year term in single-seat and five multi-seat constituencies. The last election was November 18, 2019. 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).
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.
Iroij Litokwa Tomeing was the President of the Marshall Islands from January 2008 until October 2009.
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 Finance Minister from 1989 to 1997.
An indirect presidential election was held in the Marshall Islands on 26 October 2009 following the ousting of incumbent President Litokwa Tomeing in the nation's first successful vote of no confidence on 21 October 2009. Tomeing had been temporarily replaced by Ruben Zackhras as acting president.
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.
Gerald Zackios currently serves as the Ambassador of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the United States. He presented his credentials to President Barack H. Obama on September 16, 2016. Prior to this appointment, he started his civil service in the Marshall Islands in 1985 when he was hired as the Fiscal Officer for the Department of Aging, in what was then the Ministry of Social Services. He worked there for two years before returning to school. He completed his Bachelor of Law degree in 1989 at the University of Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby.
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.
Alvin Jacklick is a Marshallese politician and government minister. In the late 1980s he was elected mayor of Ebeye, at a time when he was described as a "young radical". He was involved in the projects of the Kwajalein Atoll Development Corporation. Jacklick was the Speaker of Nitijela, the Marshallese Parliament, from 2010 to 2011.
Hilda Cathy Heine is a Marshallese educator and politician, who served as the eighth President of the Marshall Islands. Prior to assuming office, she served as the Minister of Education. She was the first individual in the Marshall Islands to earn a doctorate degree, and the founder of the women's rights group Women United Together Marshall Islands (WUTMI).
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.
Kenneth Kedi is a Marshallese politician. He has been Speaker of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands since 4 January 2016 and was re-elected in 2020. Kedi is a member of the Kien Eo Ad (KEA) party.
Atlan Anien was a speaker of the Legislature from the Marshall Islands.
Evelyn Konou is a retired Marshallese politician. She was a member of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands from 1993 to 1997.
The Constitution of the Marshall Islands is the supreme law of the Republic of Marshall Islands, in force from 1 May 1979.
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.
