The politics of Palau take place in a presidential representative democratic republic,whereby the President of Palau is both head of state and head of government. Palau currently has no political parties and is a de facto non-partisan democracy although there is no law preventing the formation of political parties.
Thomas Esang "Tommy" Remengesau Jr. is a Palauan politician;in 2013 he was elected the ninth president of Palau and was re-elected to that office in 2016. Previously he served as the seventh president of the island nation from 2001 to 2009. He served as a Senator in the Palau National Congress between his two administrations. In sum,Remengesau was elected Vice-President of Palau in 1992 and 1996,then president in 2000,2004,2012 and 2016.
Palau has a bicameral legislature,the Palau National Congress,consisting of the House of Delegates and the Senate of Palau,which both sit at the capitol complex in Ngerulmud,Melekeok State. The House of Delegates has 16 members,each serving four-year terms in single-seat constituencies. The Senate has 13 members,also serving four-year terms in multi-seat constituencies. In the last elections,held in 2020,only non-partisans were elected;no political parties exist.
Kuniwo Nakamura was a Palauan politician who served as the President of Palau from 1993 to 2001. He had earlier served as Vice President of Palau from 1989 to 1993,under Ngiratkel Etpison.
Haruo Ignacio Remeliik was the first President of Palau from 2 March 1981 until his assassination on 30 June 1985. He is buried at Kloulklubed in his home state of Peleliu. Remeliik was of mixed Japanese and Palauan descent.
General elections were held in Palau on 4 November 2008 to elect the President and members of the National Congress. The presidential election was won by Johnson Toribiong. Incumbent President Tommy Remengesau was ineligible to run because he had served the maximum two consecutive terms allowed and announced that he would run for a seat in the Senate.
Johnson Toribiong is a Palauan attorney and politician. Toribiong became the president of Palau,following his victory in the November 2008 election,and left office in 2013. Before 2020 elections,Toribiong has run for president four times - in 1992,1996,2008 and 2012.
Hokkons Baules is a businessman and a politician,and currently a member of the Senate of Palau. He has been the president of the Senate since 19 January 2017. He was elected in 2008 to fill the seat of the late Senate president Johnny Reklai. He had previously served in the Senate of the Second Olbiil Era Kelulau from 1985 until 1988.
Surangel S. Whipps is a Palauan businessman and politician. He served as the president of the Senate of Palau from January 2005 to April 2005,and from 25 April 2007 to 15 January 2009,and as the speaker of the House of Delegates of Palau from January 1993 to November 1996. He was born in Airai.
Ngerulmud is the seat of government of the Republic of Palau,an island nation in the Pacific Ocean. It replaced Koror City as a capital in 2006. The settlement is located in the state of Melekeok on Babeldaob,the country's largest island,located 20 kilometers northeast of Koror City and 2 km northwest of Melekeok City. It is the least-populous capital city of a sovereign nation in the world.
There is a small Japanese community in the Pacific Island country of Palau,which mainly consists of Japanese expatriates residing in Palau over a long-term basis. A few Japanese expatriates started to reside in Palau after it gained independence in 1994,and established long-term businesses in the country. Japanese settlement in Palau dates back to the early 19th century,although large scale Japanese migration to Palau did not occur until the 1920s,when Palau came under Japanese rule and administered as part of the South Seas Mandate. Japanese settlers took on leading administrative roles in the Japanese colonial government,and developed Palau's economy. After the Japanese surrender in 1945,virtually all of the Japanese population was repatriated back to Japan,although people of mixed Japanese-Palauan descent were allowed to remain behind. People of Japanese-Palauan descent constitute a large minority of Palau's population as a result of substantial intermarriage between the Japanese settlers and Palauans. They generally identify with,conforming to cultural norms and daily lives with the Palauans.
A six-part referendum was held in Palau on 2 November 2004 alongside the country's general elections. Voters were asked questions on summoning a Constitutional Convention,payment of members of the National Congress,creating a unicameral Congress,term limits for Congress members,election of the President and Vice President and dual citizenship. All proposals were approved except the unicameral Congress,which despite receiving a majority of the public vote,did not meet the quorum of 12 of 16 states required for amendments to the constitution.
A twenty-three-part referendum was held in Palau on 4 November 2008 alongside the country's general elections. Voters were asked questions on requirements of citizenship to hold office,government provision of primary school and health care,the definition of marriage and term limits for Parliament. Only the proposal permitting naturalization for certain adoptees failed to obtain the requisite majority of the vote and majority in 3/4th of the states.
Surangel S. Whipps Jr. is a Palauan businessman and politician,who has served as the president of Palau since 2021. He served as senator from 2008 to 2016. He is from Ngatpang state,Republic of Palau. Whipps assumed office as the President of Palau on 21 January 2021.
Raynold B. Oilouch is a Palauan politician who served as the Vice President of Palau from 19 January 2017 to 21 January 2021. Oilouch was elected vice president in the 2016 elections. He was also the Minister of Justice.
The Ministry of Justice in Palau is part of the Executive Branch and consists of the following bureaus:
General elections were held in Palau on 3 November 2020 to elect a President and the National Congress.
Temmy L. Shmull is a Palauan politician who served as Governor of Peleliu for 3 terms from January 2013 to January 2022. He previously served as the Minister of State of Palau from 2001 to 2009 and was also the vice president of Palau National Olympic Committee.
Jackson R. Ngiraingas is a Palauan politician and businessman who served as Governor of Peleliu from 1995 to 2001 and 2004 to 2009. He resigned during his fourth term to become Minister of Public Infrastructure from 2009 to 2013.
