Yutaka Miller Gibbons (17 January 1944 – 4 November 2021) was the ibedul 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 ...

from 1973 until his death in 2021. He was also an anti–nuclear weapons activist and political candidate.

Early and personal life

Gibbons was born in Palau in 1944. He was of English, Chinese and royal Palauan descent. His younger sister Gloria Salii holds the title of

bilung Bilung (Chinese: 布隆; Pinyin: Bùlóng) is a township in Biru County, Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People ...

which the female counterpart of ibedul and makes her the highest ranking female chief in Palau. His brother

John C. Gibbons John "Johnny" C. Gibbons (died 20 May 2021) was a Palau, Palauan politician. He was the Executive Administrator of Koror from 1985–1997 and then became the first Governor of Koror from 1998–2006. He was the Ministry of Justice (Republic of Pal ...

was

governor of Koror The governor of Koror is the head of government 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 Pal ...

and his other brother

Alexander Merep Alexander Merep is the High Chief ( ibedul) of Koror in the Republic of Palau. Life Merep served as the director of the Koror State Public Land Authority. He held the title rechucher-ra-techekii before being appointed by female Idid members led b ...

succeeded him as ibedul.

Career

He worked as a United States Army cook before becoming paramount chief and his sudden departure to become a member of nobility shocked members of his unit at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

as well as others he had earlier served with in West Germany. Gibbons recalled his captain shaking his hand and saying "why didn't you tell us who you were?". When he arrived in Palau, he spent 30 days in isolation except for daily sessions with his instructor. He was then inducted as Ibedul in ceremonies that included washing his hands in turtle blood which he stated was for purification. Being Ibedul of Koror gave him authority over a large part of Babeldaob, the largest island in Palau. He was opposed to the presence of American nuclear weapons in Palau. In 1979, a constitution was approved that prohibited the use, testing, storage or disposal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in Palau. He won the

Right Livelihood Award The Right Livelihood Award is an international award to "honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today." The prize was established in 1980 by German-Swedish philanthropist Jakob v ...

in 1983. He ran for president in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and

1996 Palauan general election General elections were held in Palau in 1996 to elect a President, Vice-President, Senate and House of Delegates. The first round of the presidential election took place on 24 September, whilst the run-off election and the election for the House o ...

. In 1997, he approved the new flag of Koror. In August 2004, he had to pay $92,754.89 in damages to attorney Mathew Johnson and his wife for assaulting Johnson, though he was later granted a full pardon by President Thomas Remengesau. In December 2016, he sued the Governor of Koror

Yositaka Adachi Yoshitaka "Yosi" Adachi (born 3 May 1962) is a Palauan politician. He was the Governor of Koror for 3 consecutive terms from 2006-2018 and stepped down due to the term limits imposed by the Koror State Constitution. He ran for Vice President of P ...

for allegedly prohibiting him and the Koror House of Traditional Leaders from performing their roles and functions by eliminating Gibbons' designated parking space at the new Koror State Capital Complex and cutting off the phone and the internet of the traditional leaders. He died in a Taiwanese hospital on November 4, 2021 at the age of 77. Following his death there was an ibedul succession dispute.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbons, Ibedul 1944 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Palauan politicians 20th-century United States Army personnel Ibeduls of Koror People from Koror Palauan anti–nuclear weapons activists Palauan chefs Palauan politicians of Chinese descent