Santos Olikong was a Palauan politician and a former Speaker of the

House of Delegates of Palau The House of Delegates of Palau is the lower house of the Palau National Congress (''Olbiil era Kelulau''), Palau's bicameral legislature. The Senate of Palau is the upper house. The House of Delegates has 16 members, each serving four-year terms ...

. He was also a senator, bank manager and cabinet minister. In 1972, Olikong was appointed as the manager of the Koror branch of the

Bank of Hawaii The Bank of Hawaii Corporation ( haw, Panakō o Hawaii; abbreviated BOH) is a regional commercial bank headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is Hawaii's second oldest bank and its largest locally owned bank in that the majority of the voting sto ...

. By 1980, Olikong was vice-speaker of

Palau legislature 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 ...

. In the

1980 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1980. Africa * 1980 Angolan legislative election * 1980 Cameroonian presidential election * 1980 Cape Verdean parliamentary election * 1980 Gabonese legislative election * 1980 Guinean legislative ...

he won a delegate seat in the

representing the State of

Koror Koror is the state comprising the main commercial centre of the Republic of Palau. It consists of several islands, the most prominent being Koror Island (also ''Oreor Island''). It is Palau’s most populous state. History In the oral tradition ...

. He was elected Speaker of the

from 1985 to 1988. He opposed 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 ...

. Olikong was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in the

1988 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1988. Africa * 1988 Cameroonian general election * 1988 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1988 Kenyan general election * 1988 Malian parliamentary election * 1988 Rwandan parliamentary elect ...

. Later he was appointed as

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

by President

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. ...

. Olikong was an unsuccessful candidate in the primaries of the presidential elections of 2000. President Remengesau appointed him as ambassador to Japan in 2004. Olikong died before Christmas Day in 2011 at the age of 73, so he was born ca. 1937–1939. He was described to have been a colorful figure who always had an opinion. He held Koror traditional title 'Rubasech'.

References

1930s births 2011 deaths Speakers of the House of Delegates of Palau Government ministers of Palau Members of the Senate of Palau Ambassadors of Palau People from Koror Palauan bankers {{Palau-politician-stub