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.
Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include:
"Forever Marshall Islands", also known by its incipit, "Aelōn̄ Eo Ao", is the national anthem of the Marshall Islands. The lyrics were written by former President Amata Kabua, and the music was composed by Korean composer Gil ok-yun by the request of President Kabua. The song was finished and recorded at Oasis Records in Seoul. Kabua and Gil became acquaintances after Jiyong (池勇), an economic adviser for President Amata Kabua, introduced Gil Ok Yun to Kabua.
Amata Kabua was the first President of the Marshall Islands from 1979 until his death in 1996.
Marshall Islands elects on the national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature. The president is elected for a four-year term by the parliament. The Legislature (Nitijela) has 33 members, elected for a four-year term in single-seat and five multi-seat constituencies. The legislature was last elected in 2023 without the participation of parties, though part of the members could be members of the United Democratic Party. The Marshall Islands is a state in which political parties have not been active.
Imata Jabro Kabua was a Marshallese politician, who served as the President of the Marshall Islands from 14 January 1997 to 10 January 2000. He became the Iroijlaplap of Kwajalein after the death of his cousin, Amata Kabua.
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).
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.
Japanese settlement in the Marshall Islands was spurred on by Japanese trade in the Pacific region. The first Japanese explorers arrived in the Marshall Islands in the late 19th century, although permanent settlements were not established until the 1920s. As compared to other Micronesian islands in the South Seas Mandate, there were fewer Japanese who settled in the islands. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Japanese populace were repatriated to Japan, although people of mixed Japanese–Marshallese heritage remained behind. They form a sizeable minority in the Marshall Islands' populace, and are well represented in the corporate, public and political sectors in the country.
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.
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.
Emlain Kudo Kabua was a Marshallese socialite and artist who served as First Lady of the Marshall Islands. She was the wife of Marshallese President Amata Kabua, and the mother of President David Kabua. Kabua served as the first First Lady of the Marshall Islands from 1979 until 1996. Kabua died on 11 April 2023.
Kabua the Great, also Kabua Laplap, was a Marshallese iroij whom the German Empire recognized as the king of the Marshall Islands. From 1863 until his death in 1910, he claimed to be the paramount chief, or iroijlaplap, of the Ralik Chain, though his cousin Loiak also claimed the title. Kabua worked with western missionaries and copra traders to expand his wealth and political power. He was also one of the several Marshallese iroij to sign treaties with the German Empire, first granting Germans exclusive trading rights in the Marshalls in 1878 and then legitimizing German annexation of the islands as a protectorate in 1885. The German treaties recognized Kabua as King of the Marshall Islands, though the German anthropologist Augustin Krämer noted that "Kabua is king only by the grace of the Germans."
David Kabua 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.
Hilda Cathy Heine is a Marshallese educator and politician. She has been serving as the president of the Marshall Islands since 2024, having previously served from 2016 to 2020. Heine was the first woman to lead any sovereign country in Micronesia and the first person from the Marshall Islands to earn a doctorate. Prior to entering politics, she worked as a teacher and counselor at Marshall Islands High School and then as a women's rights activist with her organization Women United Together Marshall Islands.
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.
Loeak (/ˈlɔɪˌæk/) is a Marshallese surname. Notable people with the surname include:
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.
Brenson S. Wase is a Marshallese politician and a long-time member of the cabinet and senator in Nitijela.
