Benjamin Taisacan Manglona (

Chamorro Chamorro may refer to: * Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific * Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas * Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mari ...

: ''Manglo'ña'') (March 31, 1938 – April 24, 2016) was a Northern Marianan politician and civil engineer. He is the CNMI's longest serving elected official having served as a congressman, senator, and former mayor of

Rota Rota or ROTA may refer to: Places * Rota (island), in the Marianas archipelago * Rota (volcano), in Nicaragua * Rota, Andalusia, a town in Andalusia, Spain * Naval Station Rota, Spain People * Rota (surname), a surname (including a list of peop ...

(the third largest island in the CNMI chain). Manglona served as the third

lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has a self-governing government consisting of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. Incumbent Governor Eloy S. Inos died ...

from 1990 to 1994 and as Mayor of

from 1998 to 2006.

Biography

Early life

Manglona was born on March 31, 1938. He earned a degree in

Engineering Technology An engineering technologist is a professional trained in certain aspects of development and implementation of a respective area of technology. Engineering technology education is even more applied and less theoretical than engineering education ...

from

Honolulu Community College Honolulu Community College is a public community college in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is one of ten branches of the University of Hawaii system and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. HCC's strengths are in its indu ...

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 ...

and an

associates degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The f ...

in Civil Engineering Technology from the

University of Guam University of Guam ( ch, Unibetsedåt Guåhan) (U.O.G.) is a public land-grant university in Mangilao, Guam. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and offers thirty-four degree programs at the undergraduate level a ...

. Manglona began his career as a junior engineering aide, before his promotion to

supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...

. He also worked as an assistant

clerk of court A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...

and a station manager for

Continental Micronesia Continental Micronesia, Inc. (CMI) was a company which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. It operated daily flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its base of o ...

, the major airline of

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, ...

Political career

In 1963, Manglona launched his political career when he was elected to the Marianas District Legislature, serving from 1963 to 1965. He then became a representative in the Congress of Micronesia from 1965 to 1970, as the Northern Mariana Islands were part of the

Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from 1947 to 1994. History Spain initially claimed the islands that later composed the territory of the Trus ...

at the time. Manglona became a member of the Marianas Political Status Commission representing Rota in 1972. He served as the first Vice President of the Northern Mariana Islands' First Constitutional Convention of 1976. In that role, Manglona helped draft the

Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands The Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is the governing document of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana ...

, which was later ratified by voters and approved by the U.S. President. Maglona took office as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in the first sitting Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature in 1978. He was re-elected to the Senate in each successive election until the sixth Legislature, when he was elected lieutenant governor. Manglona was elected

Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has a self-governing government consisting of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. Incumbent Governor Eloy S. Inos died ...

in the 1989 on the gubernatorial ticket of Lorenzo I. De Leon Guerrero. Manglona was sworn into office in January 1990 and served one term until 1994. He defeated incumbent Mayor of

Joseph Songao Inos in 1997 and served for two consecutive terms in office from 1998 to 2006. Manglona was succeeded as Mayor by Joseph Songao Inos on January 11, 2006. In March 2011, the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives adopted House Resolution 17-45, which honored Benjamin Manglona for "his distinguished career in

public office Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment ( public governance), management of non-profit estab ...

and his exemplary contributions to the CNMI." The house resolution, which was authored by Rep. Teresita A. Santos (Independent-Rota), was presented to Manglona on March 29, 2011. On April 6, 2011, the

Northern Mariana Islands Senate The Northern Mariana Islands Senate is the upper house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. The Senate consists of nine senators representing three senatorial districts (Saipan & the Northern Islands, Tinian & Aguijan, and ...

, where Manglona once served, passed a bill which would rename

Rota International Airport Rota International Airport , also known as Benjamin Taisacan Manglona International Airport, is a public airport located on Rota Island in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), near the village of Sinapalo. The a ...

as "Benjamin Taisacan Manglona International Airport" in recognition of his public service. The bill became law when it passed the House and was signed by Governor

Benigno Fitial Benigno Repeki Fitial (born November 27, 1945) is a Northern Marianan politician who served was the seventh governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. The second longest-serving governor in CNMI history, Fitial was elected on November 6, 2005, assu ...

. N.M.I. Pub. L. 17-53, Sept. 26, 2011. Manglona died on April 24, 2016, in

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...

from a stroke, aged 78. Benjamin Manglona will be remembered today by the people of The Northern Mariana Islands because of his devotion to serve his people.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manglona, Benjamin 1938 births 2016 deaths Chamorro people Lieutenant Governors of the Northern Mariana Islands Mayors of Rota (island) People from Rota (island) Presidents of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate Republican Party (Northern Mariana Islands) politicians University of Guam alumni