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Palau
 
[Spanish War Ensign
                                    (1785-1931)]
1875 - 12 Oct 1899
 
[German
                                    Empire 1870-1919 (Germany)]
12 Oct 1899 - 8 Oct 1914
 
[Japan]
8 Oct 1914 - 15 Sep 1944
 
[United
                                    States flag]
15 Sep 1944 - 1 Oct 1994
 
[Flag of
                                    United Nations]
18 Jul 1947 - 3 Oct 1962 Pacific Is.Trust Terr.
 
[Pacific
                                    Islands Trust Territory (Six Star
                                    Flag) 1962-1978 (U.S.)]
3 Oct 1962 - 31 Dec 1980 Pacific Is.Trust Terr.
 
[National
                                    Flag of Palau]
Adopted 1 Jan 1981


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: $263 million (2023)
Exports: $24.48 million (2022)
Imports: $216.6 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, 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  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         ....

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 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: Koror
(Truk Oct 1914-Jun 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 Southern Islands Defense Unit military (naval)
                             administration, from Jul
1918, with a civil administration
                             department
subordinate under 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).
Jul 1921                   Japanese transfer civil administration from 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).
18 Jul 1947                Reformed as the United Nations Trust Territory of the
                             Pacific Islands (see under Micronesia).

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)
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)
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