Daisy Alik-Momotaro is a Marshallese politician. She was a member of the

Legislature of the Marshall Islands The Legislature of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Nitijeļā ) has 33 members, elected for a four-year term in single-seat and five multi-seat constituencies. The last election was November 18, 2019. Elections in the Marshall Islands are officially n ...

from 2015 to 2019, representing the Jaluit constituency. Alik-Momotaro studied at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decad ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, where she received dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Gender and Communication Studies, and at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the go ...

, where she received a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

. In 1987, she co-founded a national women's organisation, Women United Together Marshall Islands (WUTMI), and served as its executive director for 13 years. In 2012, she became Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Culture and Internal Affairs. She was preparing to run for office in 2015 when a law passed requiring candidates in the public service to take thirteen months leave prior to the elections; while many candidates withdrew, Alik-Momotaro continued with her campaign, becoming the first female taxi driver in

Majuro Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

to cover her income during the election. Alik-Momotaro was elected to the Legislature at the 2015 election. As a Senator, she has spoken out about issues including domestic violence, women's health, climate change and gender equality. She has also raised concerns about the plight of religious private schools in the country, claiming that they fulfil an important role but are frequently on the verge of collapse due to underfunding. In February 2016, she was appointed as the new chair of the Judiciary and Government Relations Committee. She was defeated at the 2019 Marshallese general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alik-Momotaro, Daisy 21st-century Marshallese women politicians 21st-century Marshallese politicians Living people Members of the Legislature of the Marshall Islands University of the South Pacific alumni Portland State University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)