Gerald Zackios of the Marshall Islands and Catherine McKenna of Canada

Gerald M. Zackios (born 1965) is a Marshallese politician and diplomat. He was a member of 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 constituencies. The last election was November 18, 2019. Elections in the Marshall Islands are officially n ...

(Nitijeļā) from 2000 until 2012. During this period 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 t ...

from 2000 until 2001 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2001 until 2007. He serves as the Ambassador of the Republic 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 Intern ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

since June 2016.

Life

Zackios was born in 1965. In 1985 he started working as a fiscal officer for the Department of Aging in the Ministry of Social Services. After holding the position for two years went to study at the

University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...

, where he obtained a bachelor of law degree in 1989. Zackios then returned to the Marshall Islands where he worked as Assistant Attorney General from 1990 to 1992. While working in this position he also studied at the International Maritime Law Institute in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He graduated with a master's degree in International Maritime Law in 1992. Zackios was subsequently promoted to Deputy Attorney General. He held this position from 1992 to 1995. He then served as Acting Attorney General until his appointment as Permanent Attorney General in 1996. Zackios worked as Attorney General until he won a seat in the

(Nitijeļā) for

Arno Atoll Arno Atoll ( mh, Arņo, ) is a coral atoll of 133 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only . Unlike most other atolls, Arno encloses three different la ...

during the

1999 Marshallese general election Parliamentary elections were held in the Marshall Islands on 22 November 1999. As there were no political parties, all candidates for the 33 seats ran as independents. He served as Minister in Assistance to the President under President

Kessai Note Kessai Hesa Note (born August 7, 1950 in Ailinglaplap) was President of the Marshall Islands from 2000 to 2008. Elected in 1979 alongside Litokwa Tomeing, Note is one of the two longest-serving members of Nitijeļā. He was the Minister of Inter ...

from 2000 until 2001. Zackios further served in Note's cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2001 until 2007. While member of the Nitijeļā Zackios was Chief Negotiator for the

Compact of Free Association The Compact of Free Association (COFA) is an international agreement establishing and governing the relationships of free association between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia (F ...

between the Marshall Islands during the renegotiations which lasted between 2001 and 2004. He also helped negotiate a deal with the United States that extended its use of the

Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site The Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, commonly referred to as the Reagan Test Site (formerly Kwajalein Missile Range), is a missile test range in Marshall Islands (Pacific Ocean). It covers about and includes rocket launch s ...

until at least 2066. He was Vice Speaker in the Nitijeļā between September 2011 and January 2012. After having served three terms Zackios lost his seat during the 2011 Marshallese general election after postal ballots from the United States were counted. Upon his departure from the Nitijeļā, Zackios subsequently started his own law firm. Between January 2012 and July 2013 he practiced law. He then became Regional Director for the

Pacific Community The Pacific Community (PC), formerly the South Pacific Commission (SPC), is an international development organisation governed by 27 members, including 22 Pacific island countries and territories. The organisation's headquarters are in Nouméa, ...

North Pacific Regional Office in Pohnpei,

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 ...

. Zackios remained in that position until he was appointed as ambassador of the Marshall Islands to the United States. He was sworn in as ambassador to the United States on June 20, 2016. He presented his credentials to President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

on September 16, 2016. In the fall of 2019 leaders of the five

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...

n countries, consisting of the Marshall Islands, Nauru,

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...

Kiribati Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),Kiribati
''The Wor ...

and the

, made Zackios their nominee to succeed

Meg Taylor Dame Meg Taylor is a Papua New Guinean politician who served as Secretary General to the Pacific Islands Forum from 2014 to 2021. She was previously an athlete, lawyer and diplomat. Life and career She received her LL.B degree from Melbourne Un ...

in the position of Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum. In September 2020 the five leaders stated there should be no more delay in electing the successor of Taylor and that they still backed Zackios. By October 2020 Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) threatened to leave the organization if Zackios was not selected, with FSM President David W. Panuelo stating they had made a gentlemen's agreement for sub-regional rotation for the position of Secretary General. In February 2021, after

Henry Puna Henry Tuakeu Puna (born 29 July 1949) is a Cook Islands politician, and the current secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. He was Prime Minister of the Cook Islands from November 2010 to October 2020. Since 2006 he has been leader of th ...

was instead elected to the post with the support of Australia and New Zealand, the five Micronesian countries withdrew from the Forum.

Personal life

Zackios was married to Viola Milne. Apart from his Marshallese citizenship he is a citizen of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zackios, Gerald 1965 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Date of birth missing (living people) Ambassadors of the Marshall Islands to the United States Foreign Ministers of the Marshall Islands Members of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands Ministers in Assistance to the President of Marshall Islands University of Papua New Guinea alumni International Maritime Law Institute alumni