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Palau

  • ️Ben Cahoon

Palau

Map of Palau Hear National Anthem
"Belau Rekid"
(Our Palau)  		Text of National Anthem
Adopted 25 Dec 1980 		Constitution
(1 Jan 1981,
amended 15 Jul 2005)
Capital: Ngerulmud (Koror 1921-7 Oct 2006;
Malakal 1905-1921) 		Currency: US Dollar (USD);
1914-44 Japanese Yen (JPY) 		National Holiday: 9 Jul (1979)
Constitution Day 		Population: 21,864 (2024)
16,347 (1945)
GDP: $284.6 million (2023) Exports: $24.5 million (2022)
Imports: $216.7 million (2022) 		Ethnic groups: Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 70.6%, Carolinian 1.2%, Asian 26.5%, other 1.7% (2020)
Total Police Force: 75 (2012)
U.S. Forces: 89 (2023)
 Defense is the Responsibility of the U.S.
Merchant marine: 427 ships (2023) 		Religions: Roman Catholic 46.9%, Protestant 30.9% (Evangelical 24.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 5%, other Protestant 1.4%), Modekngei 5.1% (indigenous to Palau), Muslim 4.9%, other 12.3% (2020)
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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, IRENA (signatory), ISA, ITU, MIGA, NPT, OPCW, PC, PIDF, PIF, UN, UNCLOS, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFCC, UNFCC-KP, UNFCC-PA, UNIDO, UNWTO, WCO, WHO, WMO (observer)
Palau Index Chronology

 6 May 1522                Spanish ship Trinidad of Magellan's fleet commanded
         by Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa (b. 1479 - d. c.1540)
sights two small islands at 5° N, which they
named "San Juan" - almost certainly Sonsorol.
30 Nov 1710                Palau sighted by and claimed for Spain by Lt. Col. 
Francisco de Padilla, and later named the Islas
de San Andreas ("Island of St. Andrew").
10 Aug 1783 - 12 Nov 1783  British Capt. Henry Wilson (b. 1740 - d. 1810) and
   the crew of the Antelope are shipwreck on Ulong
   in Palau.
1874                       Spain reasserts its claims to the islands, but
does not begin settlement (Islas Palaos).
May 1874 German trading firm the Hernsheim & Co. establishes
   Südsee-Stationen Malakal (Koror, Palau) trading
   station.
19 Sep 1885                Declared annexed by Germany (Pelew).
22 Oct 1885                Spanish possession is confirmed by the arbitration
of Pope Leo XIII (signed 17 Dec 1885)
   (Islas Palaos).
21 Jan 1898 - 1902         Included (nominally) as part of the revolutionary
     Philippine Republic under Malolos Constitution.
12 Feb 1899                Spain agrees sells the Caroline Islands (including
     Palau) to Germany (confirmed 30 Jun 1899 Treaty,
takes possession 18 Jul 1899).
12 Oct 1899                Part of German New Guinea (see Papua New Guinea)
       (Palau [Pelew]-Inseln).
1905                       Regierungsstation Koror / Belau established.
1910                       Regierungsstation Angaur / Belau established.
 8 Oct 1914                Japanese occupation (see under Marshall Islands)
from 28 Dec 1914 [see below).
 8 Oct 1914 -  1 Apr 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 class C mandate under Japan
(South Seas Islands)(Nan'yō Chō Guntō)(Caroline
Islands, Marshall Islands, and Mariana Islands).
 1 Apr 1922                South Seas Government (Nan'yō Chō) created (it
includes Marshall, Palau, Caroline [Micronesia]
and Northern Mariana islands; it is composed of
six administrative districts - Palau, Saipan, Yap,
   Truk, Ponape, and Jaluit Atoll).
26 Mar 1935                Japan declares that the mandated islands are an
"integral part of the Japanese Empire" as it exits
         the League of Nations.
 8 Dec 1941                Martial law instituted by Japan.
 5 Nov 1943                Re-organization, the Palau district becomes the
Western Area (Palau and Yap), headquarters Palau.
15 Sep 1944        U.S. invasion begins at Peleliu.
14 Aug 1945 Japan deprived of Nanyō Chō by Potsdam agreement
(mandate formally revoked by the United Nations
18 July 1947 and acknowledged 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.
 9 Jul 1980                Constitution ratified by referendum (entered into
force 1 Jan 1981).
 1 Jan 1981                Republic of Palau (Beluu er a Belau).
10 Jul 1987                Trust territory effectively dissolved; Palau remains
         in trusteeship under the administrative
responsibility of the U.S. Interior Department.
25 May 1994                United Nations formally ends trusteeship for Palau. 
 1 Oct 1994                Independence, Compact of Free Association with
         the U.S. effective.
States
(since 1981)
Traditional Chiefs
South Seas
(Nan'yo Cho)
(1914-1945)
 
 
 
 
 
 

Governors 
12 Oct 1899 -  8 Oct 1914  the governors of German New Guinea
Bezirksamtmänner (District magistrates)
12 Oct 1899 -  7 Oct 1914  the District magistrates of the 
                           Western Caroline Islands
(see under Micronesia)
Stationsleiter Westkarolinen (West Caroline Station chief)(in Koror, Palau)
Feb 1901 -  8 Feb 1904     James Gibbon      (b. 1828 - d. 1904)
Stationsleiter Korror (Koror)(Koror Station chief)(in Matalái, Palau)
Jan 1905 - 1914            Wilhelm Winkler
Stationsleiters Angaur (Angaur Station chiefs)
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, 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)
Chiefs of the Palau Branch of South Seas Government
 1 Apr 1922 - 30 May 1922  Ryōsaku Wachi
30 May 1922 -  4 Apr 1928  Tomoyoshi Fujisaki
23 May 1928 - 15 Feb 1932  Yasaburō Fushida
15 Feb 1932 - 16 Jan 1936  Shōji Mukai
16 Jan 1936 - 14 Jul 1937  Naotarō Mori
 2 Apr 1938 - 22 Apr 1941  Kiichi Kōsaka
22 Apr 1941 -  2 Jun 1942  Seishichi Itō     (d. 1942)
23 Jun 1942 -  5 Nov 1943  Yūzaburō Yamaguchi   
Chiefs, Western Area Branch, South Seas Government (in Palau)
 5 Nov 1943 - 22 May 1944  Teiichi Dōmoto (acting)
(head of the Domestic Affairs Department)
22 May 1944 -  2 Sep 1945  Kenji Takeoka     (b. 1899 - d. 1974)
                             (nominally to 28 Mar 1946)
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         ....
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 in Palau
 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 Samuel Whipps, Jr.     (b. 1968)            Non-party

No Political Parties Exist

Territorial Disputes: Maritime delineation negotiations continue with Philippines, Indonesia.


South Seas Islands

[Japan] Oct 1914 - Sep 1945
Map of South Seas Islands (1921)
 Capital: Korōru (Koror)
(Truk Oct 1914-Jul 1921)
 Population: 129,104 (1939)
(of which 77,257 Japanese [incl.
  ethnic Chinese and Koreans];
 51,723 indigenous islanders;
 and 124 foreigners)
Currency: Japanese Yen
(JPY) (1914-1945)
 Exports: $3.3 million (1933) Imports: $1.7 million (1933)

 8-31 Oct 1914             Japanese occupation of the German colonial islands north of
   the equator (see under Marshall Islands)(from 28 Dec 1914
see below).
 8 Oct 1914 -  1 Apr 1922  Japanese Interim South Seas Islands Defense Unit military (naval)
administration. From 1 Jul 1918, with a civil administration
department subordinate to the Imperial Navy.
28 Jun 1919                Germany formally renounces claim to the islands by the
     Treaty of Versailles.
17 Dec 1920                League of Nations Class C Mandate for the former German Islands
in the North Pacific under Japan as the South Seas Islands
(Nanyō Chō Guntō), officially the Mandate for the German
Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator
(composed of the Caroline Islands and Palau, Marshall Islands,
and Mariana Islands). In Japan the territory was known as
               "Japanese Mandate for the Governance of the South Seas Islands"
             (Nihon Inin Tōchi-ryō Nan'yō Guntō)(effective 11 Feb 1922).
Jul 1921                   Japanese transfer civil administration from Truk (Chuuk) in the
Caroline Islands to Koror in Palau.
 1 Apr 1922                South Seas Government (Nan'yō Chō) created as the civil government
             of the South Sea Islands (it includes Marshall, Palau, Caroline
[Micronesia] and Northern Mariana islands; it is composed of six
administrative districts - Palau, Saipan, Yap, Truk, Ponape,
             and Jaluit Atoll).
  1 Apr 1922 -  1 Jun 1929  Subordinated directly to the Office of Prime minister.
 1 Jun 1929 -  1 Nov 1942  Subordinated to the  Ministry of Treasury/Ministry of Overseas
             Affairs.
27 Mar 1933                Japan declares its withdrawal from the League of Nations (effective
             26 Mar 1935).
26 Mar 1935                Japan declares that the mandated islands are an "integral part
of the Japanese Empire" as it exits the League of Nations.
Dec 1941                   Martial law declared.
 1 Nov 1942 - 26 Aug 1945  Subordinated to the Ministry of Greater East Asia
 5 Nov 1943                Administrative re-organization: six districts are reduced to three
areas (the Eastern Area [Jaluit, Truk, and Ponape], Western Area
[Palau and Yap], and Northern Area [Marianas]).
 5 Nov 1943 -  2 Sep 1945  Japanese military administration. 
15 Sep 1944                U.S. invasion begins at Peleliu.
14 Aug 1945 Japanese South Seas Mandate dissolved by Potsdam agreement (mandate
formally revoked by the United Nations on 18 July 1947 and
acknowledged by the 28 Apr 1952 by Peace of San Francisco).
 2 Sep 1945 - 18 Jul 1947  U.S. Naval military administration (see under Northern Marianas).
26 Feb 1946                The Governor of the South Seas Agency withdrew from Palau. The Tokyo
             branch office of the South Seas Agency became the South Seas
             Bureau's Office for Settling Remaining Affairs, and carried out the
             settling of remaining affairs until dissolved Mar 1948.
18 Jul 1947                Reformed as the United Nations Trust Territory of the
Pacific Islands (see under Micronesia).

Japanese Commanders of the Interim South Seas Islands Defense Unit
(in charge of administration the Caroline, Marshall, Mariana, and Palau islands)
28 Dec 1914 -  6 Aug 1915  Matsumura Tatsuo     (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, Interim South Seas Islands Defense Unit
 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      (b. 1881 - d. 1939)
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)
Director of the South Seas Government and Commander-in-chief of the South Pacific Detachment
 5 Nov 1943 -  2 Sep 1945  Boshirō Hosogaya (in Truk)         (b. 1888 - d. 1964)  Mil
(nominally to 12 Mar 1946)


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 -              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 -              Raphael Bao Ngirmang (b. 1932)

 © Ben Cahoon