Surangel Whipps Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Whipps in 2022 | |
| 10th President of Palau | |
| Assumed office 21 January 2021 | |
| Vice President | Uduch Sengebau Senior |
| Preceded by | Thomas Remengesau Jr. |
| Member of the Senate of Palau | |
| In office 2008–2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 August 1968 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 (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]
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 married Valerie Esang Remengesau in 1999; the couple has four children.[11]
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]
