His Excellency
Johnson Toribiong
8th President of Palau
In office
15 January 2009 – 17 January 2013
Vice PresidentKerai Mariur
Preceded byTommy Remengesau
Succeeded byTommy Remengesau
Personal details
Born (1946-07-22) 22 July 1946 (age 77)
Airai, South Pacific Mandate
(now Palau)
Political partyIndependent
SpouseValeria Toribiong (First Lady)
Alma materUniversity of Washington, Seattle

Johnson Toribiong (born 22 July 1946) is a Palauan attorney and politician.[1] Toribiong became the president of Palau, following his victory in the November 2008 election, and left office in 2013.[2] Before 2020 elections, Toribiong has run for president four times - in 1992, 1996, 2008 and 2012.[3]

Background and early career

Toribiong was born in Airai, one of the states of Palau. He attended the College of Guam, 1965–66, and holds a Juris Doctor degree (1972) and a Master of Laws (1973) degree from the University of Washington School of Law.[4][5] His LL.M. thesis was entitled, "Oil Pollution by Ships and Micronesia: A Survey of Maritime Jurisdiction and Applicable Laws."[6]

He was elected to the Senate of Palau in 1980. In the 1992 elections; Toribiong attracted 3,188 votes for president, versus 2,084 for one-term incumbent Ngiratkel Etpison and 3,125 for rival Kuniwo Nakamura; however, as no candidate attracted more than 50% of the vote, Nakamura and Toribiong went on to a runoff election, in which Toribiong was defeated.[7] He is the former Ngiraked of Airai.[8]

President

Toribiong was a candidate for president of Palau during the November 2008 presidential election.[9] His running mate for vice president was Kerai Mariur, a delegate in the Palau National Congress.[9] Toribiong was opposed by Elias Camsek Chin, the outgoing Palauan vice president.[9]

Toribiong led the early, unofficial vote tally with 1,629 votes to Chin's 1,499.[9] The lead ultimately held and Toribiong defeated Chin in the election.

Toribiong was sworn into office as president of Palau on January 15, 2009.[10]

Toribiong was defeated in the presidential election of 2012. One of the issues was his acceptance of 6 Uyghur former prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, who did not fit into Palauan society.[11]

References

  1. ^ [1][permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "The voters of Palau reject incumbent president". Radio Australia. 2012-11-08. Archived from the original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-15. While Barack Obama may have won a second term in the White House, there's no such joy in the former US territory of Palau, where voters have thrown out the incumbent president, Johnson Toribiong.
  3. ^ "Four candidates seek the presidency in Palau elections in 2020". Mbjguam.com. January 19, 2020.
  4. ^ "Alumni in the News". Law.washington.edu. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
  5. ^ [2][permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Hassall, Graham; Saunders, Cheryl (2002), Asia-Pacific constitutional systems, Cambridge University Press, p. 93, ISBN 978-0-521-59129-4
  7. ^ Reklai, Leilani (June 17, 2022). "'If your titles die out, so will our Palauan culture': Toribiong". Island Times. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d [3][permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Secretary Salazar Meets with Palau President Toribiong March 12, 2009". United States Department of the Interior. 2009-03-12. Archived from the original on April 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
  10. ^ "After Guantanamo, life on Pacific island was difficult". Theglobeandmail.com. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
Political offices Preceded byTommy Remengesau President of Palau 2009–2013 Succeeded byTommy Remengesau


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