was a Palauan politician who served as 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 ...

from 1993 to 2001. He had earlier served as

Vice President of Palau The vice president of Palau is the second-highest position in the executive branch of the government of Palau, after the president. List of vice presidents See also *President of Palau *List of current Vice Presidents References Pa ...

from 1989 to 1993, under

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. ...

Background and early life

Nakamura was the son of a Japanese immigrant from

Matsusaka is a city located in Mie Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 157,235 in 66,018 households and a population density of 250 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is famous for Matsusaka beef. Geography ...

Ise Province was a province of Japan in the area of Japan that is today includes most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered on Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History The name of Ise appears ...

and a Palauan chieftain's daughter. He was studying in his second year of primary school when the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

ended

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He graduated from high school under the U.S. occupation of Palau and went on to study 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 ...

Spouse

Elong Nakamura (born 2 May 1944 — 17 November 2018 in

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 ...

) is the wife of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Kuniwo Nakamura. She died in

on 17 November 2018 at the age of 74.

Career

Nakamura began his political career at the age of 28, becoming the youngest person to be elected to the Congress of Micronesia. He served as

Vice-President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

from January 1989 to January 1993. He was first elected president in the 1992 elections; he attracted 3,125 votes, versus 2,084 for one-term incumbent

and 3,188 for rival

Johnson Toribiong Johnson Toribiong (born 22 July 1946) is a Palauan attorney and politician. ...

, and then went on to defeat Toribiong in the runoff. He served two terms, being re-elected in 1996 Palauan general election, 1996 by a 64%-36% margin over Ibedul Yutaka Gibbons.Nohlen, D, Grotz, F & Hartmann, C (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p757 He did not run in the

2000 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2000. Africa * 2000 Ethiopian general election * 2000 Ghanaian presidential election * 1999–2000 Guinea-Bissau general election * 2000–01 Ivorian parliamentary election * 2000 Ivorian presiden ...

, but backed his vice-president

Tommy Remengesau Thomas Esang "Tommy" Remengesau Jr. (born 28 February 1956) is a Palauan politician; in 2013 he was elected the ninth president of Palau and was re-elected to that office in 2016. Previously he served as the seventh president of the island nat ...

, who emerged victorious by a 53%-47% margin against senator

Peter Sugiyama Peter Lawrence Naoya Sugiyama (April 19, 1943–June 10, 2007) was a Palauan politician. Personal life Sugiyama's father was a Japanese immigrant. He moved to Koror in 1914 at the invitation of his uncle, after the Japanese Empire seized cont ...

References

External links

Grassroots president mulls legacy
1943 births 2020 deaths Presidents of Palau Vice presidents of Palau Justice Ministers of Palau Foreign Ministers of Palau Government ministers of Palau Members of the Congress of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Palauan politicians of Japanese descent University of Hawaiʻi alumni {{Palau-politician-stub