Kuniwo Nakamura

Kuniwo Nakamura
5th President of Palau
In office
January 1, 1993  January 1, 2001
Vice President Tommy Remengesau
Preceded by Ngiratkel Etpison
Succeeded by Tommy Remengesau
Vice President of Palau
In office
1988  January 1, 1993
President Ngiratkel Etpison
Preceded by Thomas Remengesau, Sr.
Succeeded by Tommy Remengesau
Personal details
Born (1943-11-24) November 24, 1943
Spouse(s) Elong Nakamura

Kuniwo Nakamura (Japanese: 中村國雄; born November 24, 1943) was the President and foreign minister of Palau from 1993 until 2001.

Background and early life

Nakamura is the son of a Japanese immigrant from Matsusaka, Ise Province and a Palauan chieftain's daughter. He was studying in his second year of primary school when the surrender of Japan ended World War II. He graduated from high school under the U.S. occupation, and went on to study at the University of Hawaii.[1]

Career

Nakamura began his political career at the age of 28, becoming the youngest person to be elected to the Congress of Micronesia.[2] He served as Vice-President from 1988 to 1992.[3] He was first elected president in the 1992 elections; he attracted 3,125 votes, versus 2,084 for one-term incumbent Ngiratkel Etpison and 3,188 for rival Johnson Toribiong, and then went on to defeat Toribiong in the runoff.[4] He served two terms, being re-elected in 1996 by a 64%-36% margin over Ibedul Yutaka Gibbons.[5] He did not run in the 2000 elections, but backed his vice-president Tommy Remengesau, who emerged victorious by a 53%-47% margin against senator Peter Sugiyama.[2]

References

  1. Utagawa, Reizo (1999), "Republic of Palau Travelogue: My Way in 'Wonder Islands', No Longer the South Sea Islands" (PDF), Wave of Pacifika 6: 5–7, retrieved 2010-11-22
  2. 1 2 "Remengesau clear winner in Palau presidential race", Kyodo News, 2000-11-09, retrieved 2010-11-22
  3. Past Vice Presidents Republic of Palau
  4. Hassall, Graham; Saunders, Cheryl (2002), Asia-Pacific constitutional systems, Cambridge University Press, p. 93, ISBN 978-0-521-59129-4
  5. Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p757 ISBN 0-19-924959-8

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Thomas Remengesau, Sr.
Vice-President of Palau
19881993
Succeeded by
Thomas Remengesau, Jr.
Preceded by
Ngiratkel Etpison
President of Palau
19932001
Succeeded by
Thomas Remengesau, Jr.
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