David Kabua (born May 26, 1951) is a Marshallese politician who has served as

President of the Marshall Islands The following is a list of President (government title), presidents of the Marshall Islands, since the establishment of that office in 1979. The president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands is the head of state and government of the Marshal ...

since 13 January 2020. He has represented

Wotho Atoll Wotho Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 13 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon of . The name "Wotho" means eit ...

in the

Legislature of the Marshall Islands The Legislature of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Nitijeļā ) has 33 members, elected for a four-year term in single-seat and five multi-seat constituency, constituencies. The last election was November 18, 2019. Elections in the Marshall Islands ar ...

since 2008 and served terms as Minister of Health and Internal Affairs.

Early life

Kabua was born in

Majuro Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

in 1951 as the fourth children and second son of the first President of the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

Amata Kabua Amata Kabua (November 17, 1928 – December 19, 1996) was the first President of the Marshall Islands from 1979 until his death in 1996 (five consecutive terms). Background Amata Kabua was a scion of Marshallese Royalty. Amata Kabua is the son o ...

, and his wife, former First Lady

Emlain Kabua Emlain Kudo Kabua (28 February 1928 – 11 April 2023) was a Marshallese socialite and artist who served as First Lady of the Marshall Islands. She was the wife of President of the Marshall Islands, Marshallese President Amata Kabua, and the moth ...

. He was educated in

Xavier High School A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...

Chuuk State Chuuk State (; also known as Truk) is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The other states are Kosrae State, Pohnpei State, and Yap State. It consists of several island groups: * Namoneas * Faichuuk * Hall Isla ...

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...

where he graduated in 1971 and later studied at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. Kabua subsequently worked as teacher aid, student liaison officer and general manager of the Marshall Islands Development Authority. He was the consul general of the Marshall Islands in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, United States, for four years. He also worked as a private business owner for a decade.

Political career

In the 2007 Marshallese general election Kabua was elected to the

for

for the first time. He was re-elected in the 2011 Marshallese general election. During his second term he served as

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 2012 and 2013 and in 2014 he was made

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

in a cabinet reshuffle. He was once again elected in the

2015 Marshallese general election General elections were held in the Marshall Islands on 16 November 2015. Electoral system The 33 members of the Legislature were elected in 19 single-member constituencies and five multi-member constituencies of between two and five seats. The vo ...

. He was

Minister in Assistance to the President of Marshall Islands Minister of Assistance to the President of the Marshall Islands is a member in the cabinet of Marshall Islands. The person is appointed by the President from among the members of the Nitijela. The person acts as a substitute for the President of th ...

in the cabinet of

Casten Nemra Casten Ned Nemra (born July 29, 1971) is a Marshallese politician who was President of the Marshall Islands for 17 days in January 2016. He was elected by the Nitijeļā (Parliament) as President in January 2016, following the 2015 general elect ...

in January 2016. During the

2019 Marshallese general election General elections were held in the Marshall Islands on 18 November 2019. Opponents of President Hilda Heine won a majority of seats. Background The 2015 Marshallese general election, 2015 elections saw a significant defeat for the government of i ...

he was re-elected for

with 120 votes. On 6 January 2020 Kabua was elected President of the Marshall Islands by the

national legislature This is a list of legislatures by country. A "legislature" is the generic name for the national parliaments and congresses that act as a plenary general assembly of representatives and that have the power to legislate. All entities included in ...

by a vote of 20–12 with one abstention. He succeeded

Hilda Heine Hilda Cathy Heine (born April 6, 1951) is a Marshallese educator and politician, who served as the eighth President of the Marshall Islands. Prior to assuming office, she served as the Minister of Education. She was the first individual from the ...

, who was seeking a second term, but lost in the first session vote. Kabua said that combating

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

, negotiating with the US regarding the extension of a funding arrangement that expires in 2024 and addressing the issue of

Runit Dome Runit Island () is one of 40 islands of the Enewetak Atoll of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The island is the site of a radioactive waste repository left by the United States after it conducted a series of nuclear tests on Enewetak A ...

as the top priorities of his presidency. Meaghan Tobin, writing for the ''

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'' described Kabua as a moderate politician who would continue the country's relationship with

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. In September 2020, in the lead up to the 75th General Assembly of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Kabua wrote a public letter to ''

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'' in which warned about the risks of climate change to his country, stating that his country could disappear.

Cabinet

Kabua and his cabinet were sworn into office by Chief Justice

Carl Ingram Carl may refer to: *Carl, Georgia, city in USA *Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name *Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of tel ...

of the

High Court of the Marshall Islands The High Court is the second highest court of law in the Marshall Islands Judiciary. The court is established by Article VI, section 3 of the republic's constitution It has appellate jurisdiction over cases originating in the lower courts as well a ...

on 13 January 2020.

Personal life

Kabua is married to Ginger Kabua, together they have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kabua, David 1951 births Living people Children of national leaders Health ministers of the Marshall Islands Interior ministers of the Marshall Islands Marshallese diplomats Members of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands Ministers in Assistance to the President of Marshall Islands People from Majuro Presidents of the Marshall Islands 21st-century Marshallese politicians