Peter M. Christian | |
---|---|
8th President of the Federated States of Micronesia | |
In office 11 May 2015 –11 May 2019 | |
Vice President | Yosiwo George |
Preceded by | Manny Mori |
Succeeded by | David W. Panuelo |
Speaker of the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia | |
In office 12 May 2003 –11 May 2007 | |
Preceded by | Jack Fritz |
Succeeded by | Isaac Figir |
Personal details | |
Born | Peter Martin Christian Souissa 16 October 1947 Pohnpei,Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (now Micronesia) |
Political party | Independent |
Spouse | Maurina Weilbacher |
Alma mater | University of Hawaii,Manoa |
Peter Martin Christian Souissa (born 16 October 1947) is a Micronesian politician who served as the 8th President of the Federated States of Micronesia,from 11 May 2015 to 11 May 2019.
Peter Martin Christian was among the first fourteen persons to be elected to the first Congress in 1979. He served as the Speaker of the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia from May 2003 to May 2007. [1] He was elected as a senator in 2007 representing Pohnpei at-large and re-elected in 2011. [2] He served as the Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Communication during his 2007 term in Congress. [3]
In March 2019,Christian lost the election to become the at-large senator for Pohnpei. Under Micronesian law,the president is chosen from among the four at-large members. As a result,Christian effectively lost his bid for re-election to the presidency. [4] Some sources [5] [6] attributed the loss to a scandal surrounding the indictment in Hawaii of Christian's son-in-law,Master Halbert,an official in the FSM's Department of Transportation,Communication and Infrastructure,for receiving bribes. [7]
Christian has Moluccan blood ties. He is the third generation of a family from Haria,Maluku in Indonesia. [8]
The Federated States of Micronesia, or simply Micronesia, is an island country in Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania. The federation consists of four states—from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae—that are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise around 607 islands that cover a longitudinal distance of almost 2,700 km (1,700 mi) just north of the equator. They lie northeast of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, south of Guam and the Marianas, west of Nauru and the Marshall Islands, east of Palau and the Philippines, about 2,900 km (1,800 mi) north of eastern Australia, 3,400 km (2,100 mi) southeast of Japan, and some 4,000 km (2,485 mi) southwest of the main islands of the Hawaiian Islands.
The politics of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) takes place in a framework of a federal assembly-independent representative democratic republic. The President of the Federated States of Micronesia is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the president and his cabinet, while legislative power is vested in both the president and the Congress. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Geography of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), a country located in the western Pacific Ocean, and in the Micronesia cultural and ecological sub-region of Oceania. While its total land area is very small at 702 km2 (271 sq mi), it has the 14th largest exclusive economic zone at 2,996,419 km2 (1,156,924 sq mi).
Palikir is the capital city of the Federated States of Micronesia located in the western Pacific Ocean. A town of slightly under 5,000 residents, it is part of the larger Sokehs municipality, which had a population of 6,647 as of 2010, out of the nation's total population of 106,487. It is situated on the northwest side of Pohnpei island, a high volcanic island surrounded by a fringing coral reef. Nearby to the northeast is the island's largest settlement, the coastal town of Kolonia. It was declared the capital of Micronesia in 1989.
The president of the Federated States of Micronesia is the head of state and government of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The FSM president, by virtue of his or her office, is the head of the FSM Cabinet and is in charge of the administration and operations of the National Government. The president is assisted by the vice-president, both of whom are elected by the FSM Congress from among the at-large members to serve for four-year terms. The current and tenth president of the FSM is Wesley Simina, who replaced David Panuelo on 11 May 2023.
The Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia has 14 non-partisan members: ten members elected for a two-year term in ten single-seat constituencies and four members elected for a four-year term, one from each state at-large.
Kolonia is a coastal town and the capital of Pohnpei State in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). It's not to be confused with the far smaller Colonia, the capital of the State of Yap. It was also the former FSM capital before being replaced by Palikir in 1989, located nearby to the southwest in the municipality of Sokehs. It has 6,074 people.
Indirect presidential elections were held in the Federated States of Micronesia on May 11, 2007.
The vice president of Federated States of Micronesia is the second highest position in Federated States of Micronesia. The vice president is elected by the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia from among the at-large members for a four-year term. The vice president is also a part of the legislature. The annual salary of the vice president is set to US$70,000.
Petrus Tun was a Micronesian politician, who played an important role during the first days of Micronesian independence and in the Trust Territory times that preceded them.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the Federated States of Micronesia.
Wesley W. Simina is a Micronesian politician who has served as the president of the Federated States of Micronesia since 2023. He served as the governor of Chuuk State, one of the four states that constitute the Federated States of Micronesia, from July 2005 to July 2011.
Yosiwo Palikkun George was a Micronesian politician, Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia in the 19th (2015–2019) and 20th (2019–2022) terms of congress, under the presidencies of Peter M. Christian and David W. Panuelo.
Federated States of Micronesia Department of Education is the national education department of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is headquartered in Palikir, Pohnpei, Pohnpei State.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 5 March 2019, alongside a referendum on calling a Constitutional Convention. All 14 seats in Congress were up for election, and all 13 incumbents standing for re-election were returned to Congress.
David W. Panuelo is a Micronesian politician who served as the president of the Federated States of Micronesia from 2019 to 2023.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs heads the department of foreign affairs of the Federated States of Micronesia in the government.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Federated States of Micronesia on 7 March 2023 to elect the fourteen members of the Congress: ten representatives of the districts, and four senators each representing one of the four states.
A referendum on nine proposed amendments to the constitution was held in Micronesia on 4 July 2023. Eight of the amendments were proposed by the Constitutional Convention elected in 2019, and one amendment was proposed by Congress. All nine amendments passed, and were officially ratified by President Simina on 4 October 2023.
Esmond Burdett Moses is a Micronesian politician from Pohnpei State. Since 2023, he has served as the Speaker of the Congress of the Federated States of Micronesia. He previously served as Vice Speaker of the Congress from 2019 to 2023.