| Governor of Peleliu | |
|---|---|
| Term length | Three years |
| Inaugural holder | Yukio Shmull |
| Formation | 1983 |
| Website | https://www.palaugov.pw/states/peliliu/ |
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|---|
The governor of Peleliu is the head of government of Peleliu. The position was established in 1983 and a new governor is sworn in on January 1 unless they resign during their term. [1] [2] It is the only state in Palau to have elections every three years instead of every two or four years. [3]
Article VII of the Peleliu constitution states that to be eligible for governor a person "must be a citizen of Palau and a person of Peleliu". [4] They must also be at least 35 years old, must not have been convicted of a felony at the time of an election, unless pardoned, and can not be employed by the state government, national government or serve in the Palau National Congress concurrently whilst governor. [4]
Furthermore, it states that the governor shall be elected in a state-wide election for a term of 3 years and that a person can not serve as governor for more than 3 consecutive terms. [4] Additionally, the governor must reside in the state during their term. [4] The governor may be impeached and removed from office for treason, bribery or other serious crimes by a vote of no less than two-thirds of the members of the state legislature. [4] If the office becomes vacant and there is more than 180 days remaining in the unexpired term, the speaker of the house becomes governor and must call a special election within 30 days to fill the vacancy. [4]
| No. | Picture | Name | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||
| 1 | Yukio Shmull (died 2018) [1] | January 1, 1983 [1] | January 1, 1986 [1] | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 2 | Timarong Sisior | January 1, 1986 [1] | January 1, 1992 [5] | 6 years, 0 days | |
| 3 | Hinao Soalablai | January 1, 1992 [6] | January 1, 1995 [7] | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 4 | Jackson Ngiraingas | January 1, 1995 [7] | January 1, 2001 [7] | 6 years, 0 days | |
| 5 | Timarong Sisior | January 1, 2001 [8] | January 1, 2004 [8] | 3 years, 0 days | |
| 6 | Jackson Ngiraingas | January 1, 2004 [9] | February 14, 2009 [10] | 5 years, 44 days | |
| - | Kalbesang Soalablai (acting) | February 14, 2009 [11] | March 17, 2009 [11] | 31 days | |
| 7 | Kangichi Uchau | March 17, 2009 [12] | January 1, 2013 [13] | 3 years, 290 days | |
| 8 |  | Temmy Shmull | January 1, 2013 [13] | January 1, 2022 [2] | 9 years, 0 days |
| 7 |  | Emais Roberts | January 1, 2022 [2] | Incumbent | 2 years, 33 days |
Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific. The republic consists of approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caroline Islands with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia. It has a total area of 466 square kilometers (180 sq mi), making it one of the smallest countries in the world. The most populous island is Koror, home to the country's most populous city of the same name. The capital Ngerulmud is located on the largest island of Babeldaob, in Melekeok State. Palau shares maritime boundaries with international waters to the north, the Federated States of Micronesia to the east, Indonesia to the south, and the Philippines to the northwest.
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.
Koror is the state comprising the main commercial centre of the Republic of Palau. It consists of several islands, the most prominent being Koror Island. It is Palau’s most populous state.
Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu, along with two small islands to its northeast, forms one of the sixteen states of Palau. The island is notable as the location of the Battle of Peleliu in World War II.
Angaur, or Ngeaur in Palauan, is an island and state in the island nation of Palau.
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.
Tuvalu elects a legislature on a national level. The Parliament of Tuvalu has 16 members, elected for a four-year term in 8 double-seat constituencies. Tuvalu is a de facto non-partisan democracy since it does not have political parties. The political system is based on personal alliances and loyalties derived from clan and family connections. It does tend to have both a distinct government and a distinct opposition.
Elias Camsek Chin is a Palauan politician. He served as the Vice President of Palau from 1 January 2005 to 15 January 2009. He was elected as the president of the Senate of Palau from 16 January 2013 to 19 January 2017.
The Parliament of Tuvalu is the unicameral national legislature of Tuvalu. The place at which the parliament sits is called the Vaiaku maneapa. The maneapa on each island is an open meeting place where the chiefs and elders deliberate and make decisions.
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.
Caleb Tyndale Okauchi Otto was a Palauan physician who served as a member of the Senate of Palau. He received a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Washington in 1970. He worked in health services in Fiji. Otto represented Palau in the World Health Organization (WHO) from 1995 to 2003. He unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Peleliu in the December 2009 election against incumbent governor Kangichi Uchau who was his cousin. From 3 September 2013, he served as the Permanent Representative of Palau to the United Nations.
Hilary S. Franz is an American politician and conservation attorney serving as the 16th Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands since 2017. She is a member of the Democratic Party who was previously a member of the Bainbridge Island city council and was elected as commissioner in 2016.
Francisco Bares Gibbons is a Palauan politician. In January 2018, he became the youngest Governor of Koror. He previously held the position of Vice Speaker of Koror.
Palau has several traditional chiefs of its 16 states. A factor that resulted in the decline of chiefly authority in Palau was the introduction of elected governors, called upon in the Constitution of Palau which came into effect on 1 January 1981.
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 Minister of State of Palau from 2001 to 2009 and was also the vice president of the Palau National Olympic Committee.
Emais Roberts is a Palauan politician and physician who has served as Governor of Peleliu since 2022. He previously served as the country's Minister of Health from 2017 to 2021 and led the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Palau.
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.
There was a succession dispute following the death of Yutaka Gibbons, the ibedul of the state of Koror in Palau on November 4, 2021. Gibbons' younger siblings rechucher-ra-techekii Alexander Merep and bilung Gloria Salii both initially claimed the title but Salii would later relent her claim in favour of her son James Lebuu Littler. Merep was accepted as ibedul by the traditional chiefs of Koror and the Council of Chiefs though Salii maintains that her son is the ibedul.
Kangichi Uchau is a Palauan politician who served as Governor of Peleliu from 2009 to 2013.
Yukio Mengirarou Shmull was a Palauan politician who served as the first Governor of Peleliu from 1983 to 1986.
The late Uchelsias Yukio Shmull served as the first governor of Peleliu State from 1983 to 1985.
PSPLA claimed the rock islands of Peleliu through a claim filed by former Governor Timarong Sisior on December 21, 1988.
Hinao Soalablai, the governor of Peleliu, disputes that view.
Uchau was the successor of Jackson Ngiraingas who was the Governor of Peleliu for 12 years... [A]
Incumbent Gov. Timarong Sisior decided not to seek reelection.
The new officials will be sworn in on Jan. 1, 2004.
Ngiraingas was sworn-in as Minister on February 14.
The Palau Election Commission Board on March 17 certified and declared Kangichi Uchau to the Office of the Governor of Peleliu State.
