List of current chiefs
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. [1]
Ibedul is a title given to the high chief of Koror, in Palau, who is also the head of the Idid clan. [17] [18] Koror is the most populated state with approximately 64% of Palauans living there as of 2020 and so historically bearers of the title were erroneously referred to as "Kings of Pelew" despite them not having authority over all of modern-day Palau. [19] [20]
| Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriage(s) | Death |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abba Thulle [21] fl. 1783 |  | |||
| Ilengelekei [22] 1871 – 1911 (39–40) |  | 1911 | ||
| Louch [22] 1911 – 1917 (5–6) |  | 1917 | ||
| Tem [22] 1917 – 1943 (25–26) | 1943 | |||
| Mariur [22] 1943 – 1958 (14–15) | 1958 | |||
| Ngoriakl [22] 1958 – 1972 (13–14) | 1972 | |||
| Yutaka Gibbons [22] 1973 – 4 November 2021 (47–48) |  | 17 January 1944 | 4 November 2021 Aged 77 | |
| Alexander Merep [4] February 22, 2022 – present (1 year, 351 days) | Living |
Ngaraard is the eighth state of the Republic of Palau, and was originally named Kerradel.
The defense of Palau is the responsibility of the United States, but local police matters are handled by the Palau Police, the national police force. Some of the sixteen states also had separate police departments during the 1980s and 1990s.
Roman Tmetuchl was a Palauan political leader and businessman. He grew up in Japanese-controlled Palau and joined the Kempeitai, the Japanese secret police, during World War II. After the war, he became the leader of Palau's Liberal Party. He worked in the Congress of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from 1964 to 1978 and advocated for Palau gaining a separate status from the rest of Micronesia. He became governor of Airai and engaged in three unsuccessful Palauan presidential campaigns. As a businessman, Tmetuchl led several construction projects for his business holdings and for the Palauan community, including the Palau International Airport and a Seventh-Day Adventist clinic.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the Republic of Palau.
Women in Palau, known also as Palauan women, Belauan women, Pelew women, or Women of Los Palaos Islands are women who live in or are from Palau. Historically, there was a strong "gendered division of labor" between women and men of Palau.
J. Uduch Sengebau Senior is a Palauan lawyer, judge, and politician who has served as the Vice President of Palau since 2021. She was previously a member of the Senate of Palau from 2013 until she took office as Vice President.
Yositaka "Yosi" Adachi is a Palauan politician. He was the Governor of Koror for 3 consecutive terms from 2006 until 2018 when he stepped down due to the term limits imposed by the constitution of Koror.
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.
The governor of Koror is the head of government of Koror. The position was established in 1998 and succeeded the position of executive administrator.
John "Johnny" C. Gibbons was a Palauan politician. He was the Executive Administrator of Koror from 1985–1997 before serving as the first Governor of Koror from 1998–2006. He was the Minister of Justice from 2009–2013.
Yutaka Miller Gibbons was the ibedul of Koror from 1973 until his death in 2021. He was also an anti–nuclear weapons activist and political candidate.
Sabino Anastacio is a Palauan politician who has been speaker of the House of Delegates of Palau since January 2013.
The following lists events that happened during 2021 in the Republic of Palau.
The following lists events that happened during 2022 in the Republic of Palau.
Eyos Rudimch is a Palauan politician. He was sworn in as Governor of Koror on January 11, 2022 after winning the November 2021 election. He previously held the position of Speaker of Koror. He has a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Guam.
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.
Alexander Merep is the High Chief (ibedul) of Koror in the Republic of Palau.
Gloria Salii is the bilung of Koror which is the female counterpart of ibedul and highest ranking female chief title in Palau.
There was a succession dispute following the death of Yutaka Gibbons, the ibedul of the state of Koror, 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, although Salii maintains that her son is the ibedul.
