Johnson Toribiong (born 22 July 1946) is a

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 Caro ...

an attorney and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

.
Toribiong became the

President of Palau The president of the Republic of Palau is the head of state and head of government of Palau. The president is directly elected to a four-year term, and can be reelected once in a consecutive manner. List of presidents Latest election ...

, following his victory in the November 2008 election, and left office in 2013. Before 2020 elections, Toribiong has run for president four times - in 1992, 1996, 2008 and 2012.

Background and early career

Toribiong was born in

Airai Airai, located on the southern coast of Babeldaob island, is the second-most populous state of Palau. It contains the country's chief airport, Roman Tmetuchl International Airport, and is connected by the Koror–Babeldaob Bridge to nearby Koro ...

, one of the states of Palau. He attended the College of Guam, 1965–66, and holds a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree (1972) and a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

(1973) degree from the

University of Washington School of Law The University of Washington School of Law is the law school of the University of Washington, located on the northwest corner of the main campus in Seattle, Washington. The 2023 '' U.S. News & World Report'' law school rankings place Washingt ...

.
His LL.M. thesis was entitled, "Oil Pollution by Ships and Micronesia: A Survey of Maritime Jurisdiction and Applicable Laws." He ran for president in the 1992 Palauan general election, 1992 elections; he attracted 3,188 votes, versus 2,084 for one-term incumbent

Ngiratkel Etpison Ngiratkel Etpison (3 May 1925 – 1 August 1997) was a politician and businessman from Palau. Etpison was elected President in 1988 and served from 1989 until 1993, becoming the country’s first elected president to serve a full term in office. ...

and 3,125 for rival Kuniwo Nakamura; however, as no candidate attracted more than 50% of the vote, Nakamura and Toribiong went on to a runoff election, in which Toribiong was defeated.

President

Toribiong was a candidate for President of Palau during the November 2008 presidential election.
His running mate for Vice President of Palau, Vice President was

Kerai Mariur Kerai Mariur (born June 4, 1951 in Ollei, Ngarchelong State, Palau) was the Vice President of Palau. Biography His qualifications include a Major Degree in Business Administration and Higher Accounting received from Cannon's International Bus ...

, a

Delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (Unit ...

in the

Palau National Congress Palau has a bicameral legislature, the Palau National Congress (''Olbiil era Kelulau''), consisting of the House of Delegates and the Senate of Palau, which both sit at the capitol complex in Ngerulmud, Melekeok State. The House of Delegates has ...

. Toribiong was opposed by

Elias Camsek Chin Elias Camsek Chin (born 10 October 1949) is a Palauan politician. He served as the Vice President of Palau from 1 January 2005 to 15 January 2009. He was elected as the president of the Senate of Palau from 16 January 2013 to 19 January 2017. E ...

, the outgoing Palauan Vice President. Toribiong led the early, unofficial vote tally with 1,629 votes to Chin's 1,499. The lead ultimately held and Toribiong defeated Chin in the election. Toribiong was sworn into office as President of Palau on January 15, 2009. Toribiong inauguration photo

He was defeated in the Presidential election of 2012. One of the issues was his acceptance of 6 Uyghur former prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba who didn't fit into Palauan society.

References

1946 births Ambassadors of Palau to Taiwan Living people Palauan lawyers People from Airai Presidents of Palau University of Washington School of Law alumni {{Palau-politician-stub