Surangel Whipps Jr.

Last updated
Valerie Whipps
​
(m. 1999)​
The Honourable [1]
Surangel Whipps Jr.
Surangel Whipps Jr. at Japan-Palau Summit September 2022.jpg
Whipps in 2022
10th President of Palau
Assumed office
21 January 2021
Children4 (3 daughters and 1 son)
Parent Surangel S. Whipps
Relatives Thomas Remengesau Jr. (Brother-in-law)
Education Andrews University (B.S)
University of California Los Angeles (MBA)

Surangel S. Whipps Jr. (born 9 August 1968) [2] is a Palauan businessman and politician, who has served as the president of Palau since 2021. [3] He served as senator from 2008 to 2016. [3] He is from Ngatpang state, Republic of Palau. [1] Whipps assumed office as the President of Palau on 21 January 2021. [4] [5]

Contents

Early life and education

Whipps, wife Valerie and President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen in March 2021 03.30 Zong Tong Jie Jian Bo Liu Gong He Guo Zong Tong Hui Shu Ren Ge Xia Kang Li Fang Tuan - 51083529117.jpg
Whipps, wife Valerie and President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen in March 2021

Whipps was born in Baltimore, Maryland, [6] to Surangel Whipps Sr. and a mother who was born in Maryland. [6]

He has a degree in Business Administration and Economics from Andrews University and an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles. [7] In addition, he heads a chain of Palauan supermarkets. [8]

He ran against his brother-in-law, President Thomas Remengesau Jr., who was running for re-election, in the 2016 Palauan general election. [9] Remengesau received 5,109 votes while Whipps won 4,854 votes. [10]

Whipps and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the White House in May 2022 Jake Sullivan and Surangel Whipps Jr. at the White House in 2022.jpg
Whipps and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the White House in May 2022

Spouse and children

Whipps married Valerie Esang Remengesau in 1999; the couple has four children. [11]

Tenure

Whipps ran for president in the 2020 presidential election and defeated Vice President Raynold Oilouch [3] [12] in a campaign in which he stressed tax reforms and the creation of additional sources of revenue. [13] In an interview with The Guardian , then President-elect Whipps Jr. made the statement that Palau would more strongly oppose the actions of the Chinese government including illegal fishing and trespassing in Palauan waters as well as vowing to maintain the country's recognition of Taiwan. [8] In addition, he proposed to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine amongst Palau's population, with an emphasis on healthcare workers. [14]

During the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, Whipps said, "We are drowning, and our only hope is the life-ring you are holding", strongly criticizing world powers in his speech. [15] On 28 September 2022, on the occasion of the state funeral for Shinzo Abe, Japan's former Prime Minister, in Tokyo, Whipps was one of only seven heads of state who had meetings with the Japanese Emperor Naruhito. [16]

In October 2022, President Whipps visited Taiwan for the second time in his presidency. He arrived in Taiwan on 5 October and was welcomed by President Tsai Ing-wen when he stepped off the plane.

President Whipps serves on the advisory council of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University, which is dedicated to accelerating the innovation and adoption of trusted technology to advance freedom. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palau</span> Country in the western Pacific

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Remengesau Jr.</span> 7th and 9th President of Palau

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Remengesau Sr.</span> President of Palau

Thomas Ongelibel Remengesau, also known as Thomas Remengesau Sr., was a politician in Palau. He was Vice President of Palau from 1985 to 1988, and acting President of Palau in 1985 and President of Palau from 1988 to 1989 following the violent deaths of two previous presidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Palauan general election</span>

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.

Joshua Koshiba is a former member of the Senate of Palau. After his re-election in 2004, he became the longest-serving member of that body in the history of Palau. Koshiba was elected seven consecutive terms as Senator from 1980 to 2008.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Palauan general election</span>

General elections were held in Palau on 1 November 2016 to elect a President and the National Congress. Incumbent President Tommy Remengesau was challenged by his brother-in-law, Surangel Whipps Jr. for the presidency, emerging as the top two in the primary elections on 27 September. Remengesau was subsequently re-elected with 51% of the vote.

Victoria Ngiratkakl-Kanai, known as Vicky Kanai, is a Palauan politician, who has been a member of the House of Delegates of Palau since 2016. Prior to her election, Kanai served as the governor of Airai for two terms.

PSS <i>Remeliik II</i> Patrol boat

PSS Remeliik II is a Guardian-class patrol boat in the service of Palau's Division of Maritime Law Enforcement, built, and provided by Australia to replace the Pacific Forum patrol boat PSS Remeliik. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Australia helped its smaller neighbours, in the Pacific Forum by building small patrol boats so they could protect their own sovereignty. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), had extended an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) 200 kilometres (120 mi) off the shores of all maritime nations, and for small Island nations in the Pacific protecting their EEZ would be an overwhelming problem.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Palau is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Palau on 31 May 2021. As of August 2021, Palau has one of the highest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the world with approximately 84% of its population fully vaccinated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hennessey-Niland</span> American diplomat

John Hennessey-Niland is an American diplomat who had served as the United States ambassador to Palau from 2020 to 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Palauan general election</span>

General elections were held in Palau on 3 November 2020 to elect a President and the National Congress.

The following lists events that happened during 2020 in the Republic of Palau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temmy Shmull</span> Palauan politician

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Palauan general election</span>

General elections are scheduled to held in Palau on 12 November 2024 to elect a President and the National Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valerie Whipps</span> First Lady of Palau

Valerie Esang Whipps is a Palauan stateswoman who has been First Lady of Palau since 21 January 2021.

The following lists events that happened during 2021 in the Republic of Palau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emais Roberts</span> Palauan politician and physician

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.

Mason N. Whipps is a Palauan politician. Whipps was elected to the Senate of Palau in the 2020 Palauan general election.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Honorable SURANGEL S. WHIPPS". Institute of Museum and Library Services. Pacific Digital Library. 2020. p. 13. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "Four candidates seek the presidency in Palau elections in 2020". January 20, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Surangel Whipps Jr to be Palau's new president". RNZ. 6 November 2020. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  4. ↑ Carreon, Bernadette (18 January 2021). "Palau's new president vows to stand up to 'bully' China". The Guardian– via theguardian.com.
  5. ↑ Carreon, Bernadette (18 January 2021). "Palau's new president vows to stand up to 'bully' China". The Guardian.
  6. 1 2 "TFB Interview: Surangel Whipps Jr. from Palau - YouTube". M.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  7. ↑ "Palau National Congress - Senators". Palau National Congress. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-11-08.
  8. 1 2 Carreon, Bernadette (2021-01-18). "Palau's new president vows to stand up to 'bully' China". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  9. ↑ "Palau island election: Brothers-in-law vying for presidency" . The Independent . 2016-10-31. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  10. ↑ Carreon, Bernadette H. (2016-11-06). "Palau election too close to call, Results to be decided by overseas ballots". Guam Daily Post . Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  11. ↑ "Surangel S, Whipps, Jr. President of Palau". The High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (Ocean Panel). Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  12. ↑ Carreon, Bernadette (3 November 2020). "Palauans vote on new political era". RNZ . Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  13. ↑ "Surangel Whipps Jr to be Palau's new president". RNZ. 2020-11-06. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  14. ↑ "President Surangel Whipps, Jr. of Palau". Bridging Borders. Retrieved 2021-02-11.
  15. ↑ "'You might as well bomb us,' says President of Palau at COP26 climate summit". WION. 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  16. ↑ "Emperor Naruhito, in a rare move, meets with 7 heads of state in one day". Arab News Japan. Retrieved 2022-10-13.
  17. ↑ "Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue Launches International Advisory Council, Expanding Global Reach". Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue. Retrieved 2023-08-27.
Political offices
Preceded by President of Palau
2021–present		Incumbent


Flag of Palau.svg

This article about a Palauan politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.