Senate of Palau

Senate Olbiil Era Kelulau
Type
Type	Upper house of the Palau National Congress
Leadership
President of the Senate [1]	Hokkons Baules since 19 January 2017
Vice President of the Senate [1]	Stevenson Kuartei since 16 January 2025
Floor Leader [1]	Kerai Mariur since 16 January 2025
Structure
Seats	15
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	Plurality block voting
Last election	5 November 2024
Next election	2028
Meeting place
Olbiil era Kelulau building in the capitol complex, Ngerulmud
Website

The Senate of Palau is the upper house of the Palau National Congress (Olbiil era Kelulau). The Senate members are elected to serve four-year terms in multi-seat constituencies. Since January 2025, the Senate has 15 members. ^[2] No political parties exist. The most recent election was held in November 2024.

Membership

The Constitution does not indicate the number of a members of the Senate. Every 8 years, the National Congress appoints a reapportionment commission to draw up and recommend a district map allocating seats in accordance with the population. Therefore, the number of senators may change as frequently as every 8 years. Any voter can challenge a reapportionment before the Palau Supreme Court. ^[3]

During the first legislature in 1981, there were 18 Senators, which was reduced to 14 in 1984. In 2000, the number dropped to 9, but in 2008, the number rose to 13, then increased to 15 in 2024. ^[3]

Committees

The Senate of Palau has 12 standing committees. They are:

Current Standing Committees ^[4]

Committee
Ways & Means and Financial Matters
Judiciary and Governmental Affairs
Capital Improvement Projects
Health and Education
Tourism Development
Foreign Affairs and State Matters
Resources, Commerce, Trade, and Development
Youth and Social Welfare
Culture and Traditions
Public Utilities, Communications, and Housing Development
Banking and Insurance
Maritime and Climate Change

Presidents of the Senate

Name	Congress	Period	Notes
Kaleb Udui	1st	January 1981 – November 1984	[5] [6]
Isidoro Rudimch	2nd	January 1985 – October 1986	[5]
Joshua Koshiba	2nd	October 1986 – December 1988	[5]
	3rd	January 1989 – 1991	[5]
Isidoro Rudimch	3rd	1991 – November 1992	[5] [7]
Peter Sugiyama	4th	January 1993 – November 1996	[5] [7]
Isidoro Rudimch	5th	February 1997 – 31 August 1999	[5] [8]
Seit Andres	5th	September 1999 – December 2000	[5] [9]
	6th	January 2001 – December 2004	[9]
Surangel S. Whipps	7th	January 2005 – April 2005	[10]
Johnny Reklai	7th	April 2005 – 11 March 2007	[11]
Joshua Koshiba	7th	27 March 2007 – 25 April 2007	[11]
Surangel S. Whipps	7th	25 April 2007 – 15 January 2009	[10]
Mlib Tmetuchl	8th	15 January 2009 – 16 January 2013	[12]
Elias Camsek Chin	9th	16 January 2013 – 19 January 2017	[13]
Hokkons Baules	10th	19 January 2017 – January 2020
	11th	January 2020 – 16 January 2025
	12nd	16 January 2025 –	[1]

References

1. Times, Island (17 January 2025). "Historic Gains for Women as Palau's 12th National Government Takes Office". Island Times.
2. Reklai, Leilani (13 December 2024). "New Faces, New Roles". Island Times.
3. "History". Olbiil Era Kelulau. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
4. "Senate Standing Committees". Olbiil Era Kelulau. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
5. "The senate directory: 16".
6. "Pacific Islands Monthly: PIM". 1981.
7. "Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands". 1991.
8. "The Republic of Palau - the Senate". oek.palaunet.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
9. "Special Election In Palau To Replace Late Senator Kesolei | Pacific Islands Report". www.pireport.org. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019.
10. "The senate directory: 4".
11. "NAMING OF NEW PALAU SENATE PRESIDENT QUESTIONED | Pacific Islands Report". www.pireport.org. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019.
12. "IPU PARLINE database: PALAU (House of Delegates) ELECTIONS IN 2008".
13. "Parline for The Senate of Palau" . Retrieved 16 November 2016.

External links

• The Senate homepage