J. Uduch Sengebau Senior (born 1965, Ngerbeched,

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 ...

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 a Palauan

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

, 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 ...

who has served as the

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 ...

since 2021. She was previously a member of the

Senate of Palau The Senate of Palau is the upper house of the Palau National Congress (''Olbiil era Kelulau''). The Senate has 13 members serving four-year terms in multi-seat constituencies. No political parties exist. The most recent election was held on 3 No ...

from 2013 until she took office as Vice President. Senior attended Catholic primary school in

before receiving her high school education in

Waiakea High School Waiākea High School is a public, co-educational secondary school in Hilo, Hawaii. The school's mascot is the Warrior. It is part of the Hawaii State Department of Education. The school graduated its first class in 1980, and has about 1300 stud ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, from where she graduated in 1983. She subsequently studied 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 ...

, receiving a Bachelor of Arts and then graduating with a

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degree in 1993. She returned to work in Palau as a staff attorney of the

Micronesian Legal Services Corporation Micronesian describes something of, from, or related to Micronesia, a subregion of Oceania composed of hundreds of small islands in the Pacific Ocean. Micronesian may refer to: People and society * Micronesian people, people from the general re ...

, and also worked as an assistant attorney general, an associate judge of the Land Court and an associate justice pro tem of the appellate division of the Supreme Court of Palau. She was senior judge of the Land Court from 2003 until her resignation in 2007. Senior then worked as a lawyer in

private practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

until her election to parliament. She was first elected to the Senate at the 2012 election. In her first term, she introduced a bill mandating

maternity leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and ...

and banning discrimination against pregnant women, and advocated for gender equality in public office. She also established a

non-government organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

Centre for Women’s Empowerment Palau Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricit ...

, to support women in leadership positions. She was re-elected at the 2016 election. She was formerly the Chairperson of the Senate Judiciary & Governmental Affairs Committee, but resigned in July 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senior, Uduch Sengebau 1965 births Living people 21st-century Palauan politicians 21st-century Palauan women politicians Female foreign ministers Members of the Senate of Palau Palauan lawyers People from Koror University of Hawaiʻi alumni Vice presidents of Palau Women judges Women vice presidents