Northern Mariana Islands
 

to 16 Nov 1899   16 Nov 1899 - 14 Oct 1914   14 Oct 1914 - 19 Jun 1944   Adopted 19 Jun 1944   18 Jul 1947 - 19 Aug 1965 Pacific Is.Trust Terr.   19 Aug 1965 - 31 Mar 1972 Pacific Is.Trust Terr.   31 Mar 1972 - 1 Jul 1989 (District Flag to 4 Jul 1976)   1 Jul 1989 - 1991   1991 - 4 Jul 1995   Adopted 4 Jul 1995 Map of the Northern Mariana Islands Hear National Anthem  "Star Spangled Banner" Text of Local Anthem "Gi Talo Gi Halom Tasi"/ "Satil Matawal Pacifico" (In the Middle of the Sea) Adopted 3 Oct 1996 Constitution (1 Jan 1978) Capital: Saipan (Sa'ipan)(Garapan-chō [Garapan] 1920-1944, Saipan 1899-1920, Saipán [San José] 1668-1899) Currency: US Dollar (USD); 1914-1944 Japanese Yen (JPY) National Holiday: 4 Jul (1776) U.S. Independence Day ------------------------------------ Local  Holiday: 24 Mar (1976) Commonwealth Covenant Day Population: 51,118 (2024) 36,283 (1945) GDP: $858 million (2020) Exports: $128 million (2020) Imports: $536 million (2020) Ethnic groups: Filipino 35.3%, Chamorro 23.9%, Chinese 6.8%, Carolinians 4.6%, Korean 4.2%, Chuukese 2.3%, Palauan 2.2%, Japanese, and other Asian 3.6%, other Pacific Islander 1.9%, white 2.1%, multi-ethnic 12.7%, other 0.4% (2010) Total Police Forces: 126 (2005) Defense is the Responsibility of the U.S. Merchant marine: None (2024)  Religions: Roman Catholic 59.6%, Protestant 18.7%, other Christian 1.4%, other 20.3% (1995) (traditional beliefs and taboos may still be found) International Organizations/Treaties: Interpol (subbureau), PC, PIF (observer), UPU Northern Mariana Islands Chronology  6 Mar 1521                Sighted by Fernando de Magallanes (Fernão de                              Magalhães)(b. c.1480 - d. 1521) and claimed for                              Spain, named Las Isles de las Velas Latinas                              ["Islands of the Lateen Sails"]).  9 Mar 1521                Renamed Islas de los Ladrones ("Islands of the                              the Thieves")(no Spanish settlement).  22 Jan 1565                Island are re-claimed as a Spanish possession by                              Miguel López de Legazpi (b. 1502 - d. 1572)                              (no Spanish settlement). 14 Jun 1668                Settlement begins, named Islas de las Marianas,                              for Queen María Ana de Austria of Spain (b. 1634 -                              d. 1696)(see Guam). Saipan (then spelled Saypan)                              is named San José, Rota as Santa Ana, Tinian as                              Buenavista Mariana (islands along with Guam are                              subordinated to New Spain [see Mexico] to 1817). 29 Sep 1817 - 21 Jun 1898  Subordinated to the Philippines. 21 Jun 1898                Northern Marianas are separated from Guam when                              Guam becomes a U.S. territory. 12 Feb 1899                Sold to Germany by Spain (effective 16 Nov 1899)                              (Marianen-Inseln). Bezirksamt Saipan; from Apr                              1906, subordinated to the Bezirksamt Jap (see                              Micronesia) as part of German New Guinea                              (see under Papua New Guinea). 27 Feb 1907                Stationsbezirk Saipan / Marianen, part of German                              New Guinea (see under Papua New Guinea). 14 Oct 1914                Japanese occupation of Saipan (see Marshall Islands;                              from 28 Dec 1914, see under Palau). 14 Oct 1914 -  1 Apr 1922  Japanese military (naval) administration, from Jul                              1918, with civil administration department                              subordinate under the navy. Dec 1914, Saipan                              district created (Saipan-tō)(composed of Saipan,                              Tinian, and Northern Mariana Islands). 28 Jun 1919                Germany formally renounces claim to the islands by                              the Treaty of Versailles. 17 Dec 1920                Part of League of Nations mandate (South Seas                              Islands)(Nan'yō Chō Guntō) under Japan.  1 Apr 1922                Part of the South Seas Government (Nan'yō Chō)                              (see under Palau).  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 Saipan district becomes the                              Northern Area (headquarters at Saipan then Guam).  9 Jul 1944                U.S. occupation of Saipan (invasion begin 15 Jun                              1944, Tinian from 1 Aug 1944, and Rota 2 Sep 1945)                              (see under Micronesia).  9 Jul 1944 -  7 May 1962  U.S. Navy military administration (under U.S.                              Department of Interior 1 Jul 1951 - 1 Jan 1953). 10 Jul 1944                U.S. Military Government in the Northern Mariana                              Islands established. 18 Jul 1947                Japanese mandate formally revoked; part of the UN                              Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (see                              under Micronesia)(Marianas District [named                              10 Mar 1955 - 1 Jul 1962 Saipan District] and                              separate Rota district 10 Mar 1955 - 1 Jul 1962).  7 May 1962 -  9 Jan 1978  Administered by the U.S. Department of Interior.  9 Nov 1969                Northern Marianas vote for reintegration with Guam,                              but voters on Guam reject the plan.  9 Jan 1978                Commonwealth status (Commonwealth of the Northern                              Mariana Islands [in Chamorro: Sankattan Siha Na                              Islas Mariånas; in Carolinian: Commonwealth Téél                              Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas]). Leaves the Trust                              Territory de facto.  3 Nov 1986                Exits Trust Territory by U.S. Presidential                              Proclamation 5564 (of 3 Nov 1986).                10 Jul 1987                Trust territory effectively dissolved. 22 Dec 1990                Security Council ratifies termination of                               trusteeship. Saipan Mayors Rota (1945-1947, 1955-1962) Tinian (1944-1946)

Governors 
16 Jun 1668 - 21 Jun 1898  the governors of Mariana Islands 
                            (see Guam)
21 Jun 1898 -  9 May 1899  .... (acting)
 9 May 1899 - 16 Nov 1899  Eugenio Blanco y Leison             (b. 18.. - d. 1925)
16 Nov 1899 - 14 Oct 1914  the governors of German New Guinea
 1 Apr 1922 -  2 Feb 1944  the directors of the South
                           Seas Government (see Palau)
Bezirksamtmann (District magistrates)
16 Nov 1899 - Apr 1907     Georg Fritz (on Saipan)             (b. 1865 - d. 1944)
1904 - 1907                Volker Reichel (on Rota)
Stationsleiter Saipan (Saipan Station chiefs)
Apr 1907 - 29 Apr 1910     Karl Kirn (acting to 1908)          (b. 1876 - d. 1910)
1910 -  1 Mar 1911         Otto Paulisch (acting)
 1 Mar 1911 - 18 May 1914  Georg Eberhard von Heynitz          (b. 1878 - d. 1935)
May 1914 - 14 Oct 1914     Walter Boehme (Böhme)(acting)
Japanese Military commanders
14 Oct 1914 - 30 Mar 1922  ....
Chiefs of the Saipan Branch of the South Seas Government
 1 Apr 1922 - 26 May 1922  Shigeru Tateyama (acting)
30 May 1922 - 19..         Ryōsaku Wachi
1932 - 193.                Yasaburō Fushida
1935 - 1936?               Shigeru Tanaka
1936 - Dec 1936/Jan 1937   Masaharu Mukai
Dec 1936/Jan 1937 - 1938   Shigechika Yomitsu
1938 - 1940                Shigekazu Fujimoto
1940 - 1941                Yūzaburō Yamaguchi
1941 - 1942?               Sasaichi Takejima
1942 - 194.                Shinkichi Kanai
Chiefs, Northern Area Branch, South Seas Government (in Saipan, then Guam)
 5 Nov 1943 - 194.         Hitomi Tada
22 May 1944 -  8 Jul 1944  Masayasu Tsuji                      (b. 1892 - d. 1944)
Commanders-in-chief U.S. Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas,
Military Governors Northern Marianas
 2 Feb 1944 - 24 Nov 1945  Chester William Nimitz              (b. 1885 - d. 1966)
24 Nov 1945 -  3 Feb 1946  Raymond Ames Spruance               (b. 1886 - d. 1969)
 3 Feb 1946 - 28 Feb 1947  John Henry Towers                   (b. 1885 - d. 1955)
28 Feb 1947 -  1 Jul 1947  Louis Emil Denfeld                  (b. 1891 - d. 1972)
Governors, Northern Mariana Islands and Chief Military Government Officers, Bonin Islands
Aug 1946 - Aug 1947        Donald Francis Smith                (b. 1900 - d. 1991)
Aug 1947 - Jun 1949        George Leo Compo                    (b. 1891 - d. 1983)
Jul 1949 - Apr 1950        Walter Coler Holt                   (b. 1899 - d. 1959)
Apr 1950 - Jun 1951        Vacant
Officers in Charge, Military Government Saipan
(subordinated to Commanders of U.S. Naval Forces Marianas Area [COMNAVMAR])
Sep 1945 - Nov 1945        John Cowling Hammock                (b. 1903 - d. ....)
Dec 1945                   Ralph Lester Ramey (1st time)       (b. 1911 - d. 1968)
Jan 1946 - Apr 1947        Lloyd Gordon Findley                (b. 1907 - d. 1989)
May 1947 - Jun 1947        Ralph Lester Ramey (2nd time)       (s.a.)
Civil Administrators Saipan
Sep 1947 - Dec 1948        Ralph Arthur Wilhelm                (b. 1903 - d. 19..)
Dec 1948 - Mar 1949        John Curtis Spencer (acting)        (b. 1916 - d. 2012)
Mar 1949 - Sep 1949        Fletcher Lamar Sheffield, Jr.       (b. 1913 - d. 1976)
Sep 1949 - Dec 1949        James Benjamin Johnson (1st time)   (b. 1914 - d. ....)
                             (acting)
Dec 1949 - Mar 1950        James Seton Gray, Jr.               (b. 1914 - d. 1998)
Mar 1950 - Jun 1950        James Benjamin Johnson (2nd time)   (s.a.)
                             (acting)
Jun 1950 - Sep 1950        William Rawlins Lowndes             (b. 1915 - d. 1990)
Dec 1950 - 30 Jun 1951     James Brown Johnson, Jr.            (b. 1917 - d. 1989)
Mariana Islands (1955-1962, Saipan) District Administrators
 1 Jul 1951 -  1 Jan 1953  Henry M. Hedges                     (b. 1901 – d. 1969)
Jan 1953 - 30 Aug 1954     ....
30 Aug 1954 - 1956?        Charles Ellis Miller                (b. 1917 - d. ....)
1956? - Nov 1957           G.A. Evans
27 Nov 1957 - 30 Apr 1959  David Nelson Morey, Jr.             (b. 1919 - d. 2016)
30 Apr 1959 - 1960         Ralph Helland Mortensen             (b. 1919 - d. 1977)
1960 - Sep 1960            Leroy Hippe (acting)                (b. 1913 - d. 1971)
1960 - Jun 1962            Paul Wesley Bridwell                (b. 1916 - d. 1996)
 1 Jul 1962 - 1963         Francis Bernard Mahoney             (b. 1922 - d. 1981)
May 1963 - 1965            Roy Trent Gallemore                 (b. 1895 – d. 1977)  
1965 - May 1969            Peter Tali Coleman                  (s.a.)  
May 1969 - 1976            Francisco "Frank" C. Ada            (b. 1934 - d. 2010)
Resident Commissioner
 1 Apr 1976 -  9 Jan 1978  Erwin Dain Canham                   (b. 1904 - d. 1982)
Governors
 9 Jan 1978 - 11 Jan 1982  Carlos Sablan Camacho               (b. 1937)            PP/Dem
11 Jan 1982 -  8 Jan 1990  Pedro Pangelinan Tenorio (1st time) (b. 1934 - d. 2018)  TP/Rep
 8 Jan 1990 - 10 Jan 1994  Lorenzo Iglecias De Leon Guerrero   (b. 1935 - d. 2006)  Rep
10 Jan 1994 - 12 Jan 1998  Froilan Cruz Tenorio                (b. 1939 - d. 2020)  Dem
12 Jan 1998 - 14 Jan 2002  Pedro Pangelinan Tenorio (2nd time) (s.a.)               Rep
14 Jan 2002 -  9 Jan 2006  Juan Nekai Babauta                  (b. 1953)            Rep
 9 Jan 2006 - 20 Feb 2013  Benigno "Ben" Repeki Fitial         (b. 1945)           CP;2011 Rep
 4 Oct 2006 - 23 Dec 2006  Timothy Pangelinan Villagomez       (b. 1962)            CP
                             (acting for Fitial)
20 Feb 2013 - 29 Dec 2015  Eloy Songao Inos                    (b. 1949 - d. 2015) CP;2013 Rep
29 Dec 2015 -  9 Jan 2023  Ralph Deleon Guerrero Torres        (b. 1979)            Rep
 9 Jan 2023 -              Arnold Indalecio Palacios           (b. 1955)            Ind

Military Government Officers, Military Government Section Commander-in-chief Pacific Fleet
Sep 1945 - Apr 1946        William Funsten Jennings            (b. 1900 - d. 1971)
May 1946 - Mar 1947        John Cowling Hammock                (s.a.)
Apr 1947 - May 1947        Howard Austin Yaeger                (b. 1905 - d. 1967)
Jun 1947 - Jul 1947        Crittenden B. Taylor                (b. 1906 - d. 1975)
Officers in Charge, Military Government Marshalls-Gilberts Area
Sep 1945 - Oct 1945        Charles Henry Bowman                (b. 1911 - d. ....)
Sep 1945 - Oct 1945        James J. McNamara                   (b. 1895 - d. 1972)
                             (officer in charge, Non-Garrisoned Atolls)
Oct 1945 -  5 Jan 1946     Jeremiah Jerome O'Connor            (b. 1913 - d. 19..)
Deputy Military Governors of the Northern Marianas
(the Commanders of U.S. Naval Forces Marianas Area)
 1 Jun 1945 - Aug 1945     John Howard Hoover                  (b. 1887 - d. 1970)
Aug 1945 - Feb 1946        George Dominic Murray               (b. 1889 - d. 1956)
Feb 1946 - 18 Jul 1947     Charles Alan Pownall                (b. 1887 - d. 1975)
Deputy High Commissioners of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
18 Jul 1947 - 23 Jul 1948  Carleton Herbert Wright             (b. 1892 - d. 1973)  Mil
24 Jul 1948 - 31 May 1951  Leon Sangster Fiske                 (b. 1894 - d. 1980)  Mil
 1 Jun 1951 - 23 Apr 1954  James A. McConnell                                       Dem
15 Aug 1954 - 26 Nov 1956  Delmas Henry Nucker                 (b. 1907 - d. 1985)  Rep
 2 Feb 1957 - 16 Oct 1958  Eugene Richard Gilmartin            (b. 1902 - d. 1961)  Rep
Oct 1958 - 23 Apr 1961     Joseph C. Putnam                    (b. 1902 - d. ....)
                             (acting to 26 Feb 1959)
16 May 1961 - 21 Feb 1964  José "Pepe" Antonio Benitez         (b. 1924? - d. 1978) Dem 
10 Apr 1964 - 31 Jan 1966  Richard "Dick" Flores Taitano       (b. 1921 - d. 1997)  Dem
31 Jan 1966 -  6 Dec 1966  Vacant
 6 Dec 1966 - 28 Mar 1969  Martin Patrick Mangan               (b. 1920 - d. 2000)
19 May 1969 - 23 Feb 1977  Peter Tali Coleman                  (b. 1919 - d. 1997)  Rep 
 1 Jun 1977 - 1981         Juan Atalig Sablan                  (b. 1936 - d. 1996)
                             (acting to 3 Feb 1978)
 1 May 1981 - 1982?        Daniel Joseph High (acting)         (b. 1938)

Party abbreviations: CP = Covenant Party (CNMI regionalist, populist, conservative, est.2001); Dem = Democratic Party (liberal, center-left, est.1829); Rep = Republican Party (conservative, center-right, est.1854);
- Former parties: PP = Popular Party (Northern Marianas regionalist, pro-reintegration with Guam, merged into Dem); TP = Territorial Party (Northern Marianas regionalist, supported a direct relationship with the U.S.)