Kessai Hesa Note (born August 7, 1950 in Ailinglaplap) was

President of the Marshall Islands The following is a list of 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 Marshall Islands. The President is el ...

from 2000 to 2008. Elected in 1979 alongside

Litokwa Tomeing Iroij Litokwa Tomeing (14 October 1939 – 12 October 2020) was the President of the Marshall Islands from January 2008 until October 2009. Biography Early and personal life Litokwa Tomeing was born on Wotje Atoll, in the Japanese-administered ...

, Note is one of the two longest-serving members of

Nitijeļā 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 ...

. He was the Minister of Internal affairs from 1985 to 1986, and Minister of Transportation and communications from 1986 to 1987. Having served as Speaker of the

since 1988, he was elected President in 2000. Note is the first commoner, rather than an

Iroijlaplap Iroijlaplap ( Marshallese: ; feminine: Leroijlaplap, ) are the traditional paramount chiefs in the Marshall Islands. Ordinary chiefs bear the title of Iroij (feminine: Leroij); -' is a superlative suffix. Legal basis Article III of the Consti ...

or traditional chief, to be elected to the Presidency. Giff Johnson
"Opposition Takes Control Of Marshall Islands Government"
, ''Pacific Magazine'', January 7, 2008. He is a member of the United Democratic Party, and was reelected by parliament in January 2004, receiving 20 votes, while Justin deBrum received 9. On January 7, 2008, following the November 2007 general election, he was defeated in his bid for re-election in a vote of Parliament, receiving 15 votes against 18 for

Note is of Japanese-Marshallese descent, having inherited his Japanese heritage from his paternal grandfather. Note's grandfather was a native of

Niigata Prefecture is a prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area at . Niigata Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture and ...

, and settled in the Marshall Islands during the Japanese colonial era and married a Marshallese wife. Since January 2020, he has been the Minister of Justice.

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