Palau
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- 1875 - 12 Oct 1899
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- 12 Oct 1899 - 8
Oct 1914
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- 8 Oct 1914 - 15
Sep 1944
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- 15 Sep 1944 - 1
Oct 1994
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- 18 Jul 1947 - 3
Oct 1962 Pacific Is.Trust Terr.
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- 3 Oct 1962 - 31
Dec 1980 Pacific Is.Trust Terr.
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- Adopted 1 Jan 1981
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Map
of Palau
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Hear
National Anthem
"Belau Rekid"
(Our Palau)
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Text
of National Anthem
Adopted 25 Dec 1980
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Constitution
(1 Jan 1981)
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Capital:
Melekeok
(Koror 1921-7 Oct
2006;
Malakal 1905-1921)
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Currency:
US Dollar (USD);
1914-1944
Japanese Yen (JPY)
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National
Holiday: 9 Jul (1979)
Constitution Day
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Population:
19,417 (2020)
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GDP: $264
million (2017)
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Exports:
$23.17 billion (2017)
Imports: $4.71
billion (2017)
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Ethnic groups:
Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and
Melanesian admixtures) 73%, Carolinian
2%, Asian 21.7%,
Caucasian 1.2%, other 2.1% (2015)
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Total Police
Force: 75 (2012)
Defense is the
Responsibility of the U.S.
Merchant marine:
None (2018)
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Religions:
Roman Catholic 45.3%, Protestant 34.9%
(includes
Evangelical 26.4%, Seventh Day
Adventist 6.9%, Assembly
of God 0.9%, Baptist 0.7%), Modekngei
5.7% (indigenous to
Palau), Muslim 3%, Mormon 1.5%,
other 9.7% (2015)
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International
Organizations/Treaties: ACP,
ADB, AOSIS, APA, APM, BTWC, CCM, CTBT, CWC, ESCR (signatory), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM,
IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
IMSO, IOC, IOM, IPU, IRENA
(signatory), ISA, MIGA,
NPT, OPCW, PC, PIF (withdrawing), UN, UNCLOS,
UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNFCC, UNFCC-KP, UNFCC-PA, UNWTO,
WHO, WMO
(observer)
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Palau
Index
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Chronology
1543
Discovered by the Spanish explorer Rui
López
de Villalobos.
11 Dec
1710
Re-discovered by and claimed for Spain
by
Francisco de Padilla (Islas
Palaos).
10 Aug
1783 - 12 Nov 1783 British Capt.
Henry Wilson and crew of Antelope
are shipwrecked on Palau.
1874
Spain reasserts its claim to the
islands, but
does not begin settlement.
1880
German trading firm the Hernsheim
Company
establishes a trading
station on Palau.
19 Sep
1885
Annexed by Germany (Pelew).
22 Oct
1885
Spanish possession is confirmed by the
arbitration
of Pope Leo XIII (signed 17 Dec 1885).
12 Oct
1899
Part of German New Guinea (see Papua New Guinea)
(Palau
[Pelew]-Inseln).
1905
Regierungsstation
Korror established.
1910
Regierungsstation
Angaur established.
8 Oct
1914
Japanese occupation (see under Marshall
Islands)
from 28 Dec 1914 [see below).
8 Oct 1914 - Mar
1922 Japanese military
(naval) administration, from Jul
1918, with civil administration
department
subordinate under the navy. Dec
1914, Palau
district created (from the Caroline
Islands west
of
137 E).
28 Jun 1919
Germany formally
renounces claim to the islands by
the Treaty of Versailles.
17 Dec
1920
League of Nations mandate (South Seas
Islands)
under Japan.
Jul
1921
Japanese transfer civil administration
from
Chuuk in Caroline Islands to Koror in
Palau.
1
Apr
1922
South Seas Government (Nanyō Chō
Guntō) created
(includes Marshall, Palau, Caroline
[Micronesia]
and Northern Mariana islands; it is
composed of
six administrative districts - Palau,
Saipan, Yap,
Truk, Ponape,
and Jaluit Atoll).
27 Mar
1933
Japan
withdraws from the League of Nations.
1935
Japan declares that the mandated
islands are an
"integral part of the Japanese
Empire."
Dec
1941
Martial law declared.
5 Nov
1943
Reorganization, the Palau district
becomes the
Western Area (Palau and Yap),
headquarters Palau.
15 Sep 1944
U.S. invasion begins as
Peleliu.
14 Aug
1945
Japan
deprived of Nanyō Chō by Potsdam
agreement
(recognized 28 Apr 1952
by peace of San Francisco)
2 Sep
1945
U.S. occupies
Palau.
2 Sep 1945 - 30 Jun
1951 U.S. Navy military
administration.
18 Jul 1947
Palau District
of the of United Nations Trust
Territory of the Pacific
Islands (see Micronesia)
1 Jul 1951 -
31 Dec 1980 Administered by U.S.
Department of Interior.
1 Jan
1981
Republic of Palau
10 Jul
1987
Trust territory effectively dissolved;
Palau remains
trusteeship under the administrative
responsibility of the U.S. Interior
Department.
1 Oct
1994
Independence, Compact of Free
Association with
the
U.S. effective.
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States
(since 1981)
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Traditional
Chiefs |
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Governors
12 Oct 1899 - 8 Oct 1914 the
governors of German New
Guinea
Bezirksamtleute
(District magistrates)
12 Oct 1899 - 7 Oct 1914 the
District magistrates of the
Western Caroline Islands
(see under Micronesia)
Stationsleiter
(Station chief) Westkarolinen
(in Palau)
Feb 1901
- 8 Feb 1904 James Gibbon
(b. 1828 - d. 1904)
Stationsleiter (Station
chief) Korror
Jan 1905 - 1914
Wilhelm Winkler
Stationsleiter (Station chiefs) Angaur
1910 -
1911
Georg
Eberhard von Heynitz (b. 1878 - d.
1935)
1911 -
1913
Hans Adolf Rodatz
(b. 1873 - d. 1927)
1913 -
1914
Völz
1914
Eckert
Japanese Commanders of the Interim Southern Islands
Defense Unit
(in charge of
administration the Caroline, Marshall,
Northern Mariana, and Palau
islands)
28 Dec 1914 - 6 Aug
1915 Tatsuo Matsumura
(b. 1868 - d. 1932)
6 Aug 1915 - 1
Dec 1916 Tōgō Kichitarō
(b. 1867 - d. 1942)
1 Dec 1916 - 1
Dec 1917 Yoshida Masujirō
(b. 1867 - d. 1942)
1 Dec 1917 - 1
Dec 1919 Nagata Yasujirō
(b. 1867 - d. 1923)
1 Dec 1919 - 1
Apr 1922 Kojūrō Nozaki
(b. 1872 - d. 1946)
Director of the
Department of Civil Affairs of the
South Sea Agency
1 Jul 1918 - 1
Apr 1922 Toshirō Tezuka
(b. 1873 - d. 1933)
Directors of the South
Seas Government
1 Apr 1922 - 4 Apr
1923 Toshirō Tezuka
(s.a.)
4 Apr 1923 - 11 Oct
1931 Gōsuke Yokota
(b. 1880 - d. 1931)
12 Oct 1931 - 21 Nov
1931 Mitsusada Horiguchi
(interim) (b. 1881 - d. 19..)
21 Nov 1931 - 5 Feb
1932 Kazuo Tawara
(b. 1887 - d. 1955)
5 Feb 1932 - 4
Aug 1933 Baron Masayuki Matsuda
(b. 1892 -
d. 1976)
4 Aug 1933 - 19 Sep
1936 Hisao Hayashi
(b. 1881 - d. 1963)
19 Sep 1936 - 9 Apr
1940 Kenjirō Kitajima
(b. 1893 - d. 1957)
9 Apr 1940 - 5
Nov 1943 Shunsuke Kondō
(b. 1890 - d. 1966)
5 Nov 1943 - 2
Sep 1945 Boshirō Hosogaya
(b. 1888 - d. 1964)
(nominally to 12 Mar 1946)
Chiefs of the Palau Branch
of South Seas Government
1 Apr 1922 - 30 May 1922 Ryosaku Wachi
30 May 1922 - 4 Apr 1928 Yoshiyoshi
Fujisaki
23 May 1928 - 1932?
Yasaburō
Fushida
1932 - 1936?
Masaharu Mukai
1936 - 1938
Naotarō Mori
1938 - 1941?
Kiichi Kōsaka
1941 - 1942
Seiichi
Itō
(b. 1890 - d. 1945)
Jun 1942 - 1943?
Yūzaburō Yamaguchi
Chiefs, Western Area Branch, South Seas
Government (in
Palau)
5 Nov
1943 - 1944?
Sadaichi Domoto
22 May 1944 - 2 Sep 1945 Kenji Takeoka
(b. 1899 - d. 1974)
U.S. Military Governors
2 Sep 1945 - 18 Jul 1947 the
Commanders of U.S. Naval Forces
Mariana Islands (see Northern Marianas)
Commanders, Western Carolines
Subarea
Sep 1944 - 27 Jan 1945
John Walter Reeves, Jr.
(b. 1888 - d. 1967)
27 Jan 1945 - 15
Aug 1945 Elliott
Buckmaster
(b. 1889 - d. 1976)
15 Aug 1945 - 22 Aug 1945 George
Dominic
Murray
(b. 1889 - d. 1956)
22 Aug 1945 -
1947 the
Commanders of U.S. Naval Forces Marianas Area
Officers in Charge, Military Government Palaus
Oct 1946 - Apr 1946
Alfred Jensen
Byrholdt
(b. 1892 - d. 1952)
May 1946 - Sep 1946
Carroll Darsie Anderson
(b. 1905 - d. 19..)
Oct 1946 - Sep 1947 William
C. Ball
(b. 1901 - d. ....)
Civil Administrators Palaus (Belau)
Sep 1947 - 1947
William C. Ball
(s.a.)
Dec 1947 - Mar
1949 Chesley
Marshall Hardison (b. 1903 - d.
1954)
Mar 1949 - Jun
1949 Thomas E.
Quillman, Jr. (acting)(b. 1907 - d. 1988)
Jun 1949 - 30 Jun 1951 Alan D.
Curtis
(b. 1902 - d. ....)
District Administrators, Palau
(Belau)
1 Jul 1951 - 1952
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1952 - 1953
Sidney Burnett
(b. 1889 - d. 1961)
Oct 1953 - Oct
1958 David
Donald Heron
(b. 1903 – d. 1964)
1958 - 24 Aug
1962
Francis B. Mahoney
(b. 1922 - d. 1981)
(acting to 1959)
1962 - 1966
Manuel Godinez
(b. 1914 - d. 1990)
1966 -
1969 James
Boyd MacKenzie
(b. 1918 – d. 1978)
Mar 1969 - Oct 1969
James C. Flannery
(b. 1918 - d. 1978)
1 Nov 1969 - 28 Jan 1979 Thomas
Ongelibel Remengesau, Sr.(b. 1929 - d. 2019)
(acting to 1970)
28 Jan 1979 - 31 Dec 1980 Kim Brian
Batcheller (acting) (b. 1939)
U.S. Resident representatives
1 Jan 1981 - 16 Dec 1990 ....
Director of the Palau Office of Trust Territory of the
Pacific Islands
(Resident representative of the U.S. Interior
Department)
16 Dec 1990 - 1 Oct 1994 J. Victor
Hobson, Jr.
Presidents
1 Jan 1981 - 2 Mar
1981 Ngirngetpak Tosiwo
Nakamura (b. 1938 - d.
2003) Non-party
(Speaker of the Legislature)
(acting)
2 Mar 1981 - 30 Jun 1985
Haruo Ignacio
Remeliik
(b. 1934 - d. 1985) Non-party
30 Jun 1985 - 2 Jul 1985 Thomas
Ongelibel Remengesau, Sr.(s.a.)
Non-party
(1st time) (acting)
2 Jul 1985 - 25 Oct 1985
Alfonso Rehobong
Oiterong (b. 1924 -
d. 1994) Non-party
25 Oct 1985 - 20 Aug 1988 Lazarus Eitaro
Salii
(b. 1935 - d. 1988) Non-party
20 Aug 1988 - 1 Jan 1989 Thomas
Ongelibel Remengesau, Sr.(s.a.)
Non-party
(2nd time)
1 Jan 1989 - 1 Jan
1993 Ngiratkel
Etpison
(b. 1925 - d. 1997) Non-party
1 Jan 1993 - 1 Jan
2001 Kuniwo
Nakamura
(b. 1943 - d. 2020) Non-party
1 Jan 2001 - 15 Jan 2009
Thomas Esang "Tommy"
(b.
1956)
Non-party
Remengesau,
Jr. (1st time)
15 Jan 2009 - 15 Jan 2013
Johnson Toribiong
(b. 1946)
Non-party
15 Jan 2013 - 21 Jan 2021 Thomas Esang
"Tommy"
(s.a.)
Non-party
Remengesau,
Jr. (2nd time)
21 Jan 2021 -
Surangel Whipps, Jr.
(b. 1968)
Non-party
No Political Parties Exist
Territorial Disputes: Maritime
delineation negotiations continue with Philippines,
Indonesia.
Traditional
chiefs of Palau
Note: Palau is divided into two
regions, Eoueldaob and Babeldaob (Babelthuap; dominated
by one big island). The highest chief in Eoueldaob (and
in his own estimation in all Palau) is the Ibedul,
the chief of Oreor (Koror)(ritual name Ngerekldeu); the
highest chief in Babeldoab is the Reklai, the
chief of Melekeok (ritual name Ngetelngal), following an
earlier line of chiefs with the style Tmekei.
Chiefs (title Ibedul)
c.1710
Mlad ra ulekadei
"ibedul re kerel"
17.. - 17..
Kemangel ibedul
17.. - 17..
Mlad reksom "mlad raksong"
17.. - 17..
Bokelolom ngiragolival
1783? - Sep 1791
Ngiraidid Chorot "mlad er a burek" (b. 17..
- d. 1791)
1791 -
....
Kingsos "King George"
.... -
....
Ngiratachadong
.... -
....
Meang Merikl "meringel a kemedil"
.... - 12 Apr 1867
Ngirachosarech "mlad er a soldau" (d.
1867)
1867 - 1872
Meresou
1872 - 18..
Ngirchokebai
(b. c.1830 - d. 1911)
1883? - c.1900
Ilengelekei
.... - 1911
....
1911 -
1917
Louch Semelemoch
(d. 1917)
1917 - 29 Jan 1939
Tem
1939 - 19..
Ngiraked
1950? - 1956
Mariur
(d. 1956)
1956 - 25 Sep
1972
Ngoriakl
(b. 1917? - d. 1972)
1972 - 4 Nov 2021
Yutaka Miller Gibbons
(b. 1944 - d. 2021)
1972 - 1973
Takeo Yano (acting for Gibbons)
1973
Gloria Gibbons
(f)
(b. 1950)
(acting for Gibbons)
22 Feb 2022
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Alexander Merep
Chiefs (title Reklai)
.... -
....
Tangesechel [not the first Reklai]
.... - ....
Orakiruu
.... - ....
Omekerall
.... - ....
Busechesuch
18.. - 18..
Cheltuk
18.. -
1862
Okerangel
(d. 1862)
1880? -
1890?
Temol
.... - ....
Ngirachermang
.... -
....
Soilokel
.... - ....
Ngiratrang
.... - 1914
Ruluked (= Rrull)
1914 - 1934
Tellei
1934 - 1960?
Rekewis Brel
1968 - 1974
Ngiratelbadel Lomisang
(b. 18.. - d. 197.)
1974 - 1983
Eusevio
Nguakl Termeteet (acting) (b. 1916 - d. 1989)
1983 - 1992
Siangeldeb Basilius
(b. 1918 - d. 1992)
17 Nov 1993
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Raphael Bao Ngirmang
(b. 1932)
© Ben Cahoon
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