Peter Lawrence Naoya Sugiyama (April 19, 1943–June 10, 2007) was a

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 ...

an politician.

Personal life

Sugiyama's father was a Japanese immigrant. He moved to

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 ...

in 1914 at the invitation of his uncle, after the

Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...

seized control of the islands as part of its

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

invasion of

German New Guinea German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...

(which control would later be formalised by the League of Nations as the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the " South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following W ...

). He began his new life there as a teacher, but would go on to manage a fruit packing company and a cafe. He married Rosang Sayoko Serek, the daughter of a local chieftain. Peter Sugiyama himself was born to Hayato and Rosang on April 19, 1943. After completing his early education at Koror Elementary School and Mindszenty Intermediate School, he went overseas to continue his education, first to Xavier High School on Weno (then also 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 ...

, now a municipality of Chuuk,

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states compr ...

) and then 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 ...

, where he studied political science and history (BA 1967) and then sociology and public administration (BA 1968). In 1982, he was a witness to the shooting death of Bedor Bins, which occurred during an assassination attempt on his son Roman Bedor; the assassins also fired a shot at Sugiyama himself, but missed. Sugiyama was married to fellow politician Akiko C. Bedor Sugiyama. She was the first woman elected to the

Palau National Congress Palau has a bicameral legislature, the Palau National Congress (''Olbiil era Kelulau''), consisting of the House of Delegates and the Senate of Palau, which both sit at the capitol complex in Ngerulmud, Melekeok State. The House of Delegates h ...

, and in 2005 also became one of the first, along with

Vicki Kanai Vicky, Vicko, Vick, Vickie or Vicki is a feminine given name, often a hypocorism of Victoria. The feminine name Vicky in Greece comes from the name Vasiliki. Women * Family nickname of Victoria, Princess Royal (1840–1901), wife of German ...

, after Governor Theodosia Blailes of Angaur in 1993, to be elected as a state governor.

Political career

On public bodies

Beginning in 1970, Sugiyama served in leadership positions on a number of public bodies, including: *Vice Chairman of the Palau Economic Development Planning Council *Vice Chairman of the T.T. Coconut Processing Council *Chairman of the Palau Public Lands Authority *Executive Director of the Palau Community Action Agency In his position on the CAA, he ran a program to help Palauans develop fishing and agricultural skills to earn income, and expressed opposition to port development in Koror due to its potential environmental effects.

In elected office

Sugiyama was first elected to public office in 1979, serving thereafter as: *Delegate to the First Palau Constitutional Convention, 1979 *Member of the Seventh Palau Legislature, 1980 *Senator (Koror) in the First

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 N ...

*Senator (Fourth Senatorial District) in the Third Senate of Palau, 1989–1992 *Senator (Fourth Senatorial District) in the Fourth Senate of Palau, 1993–1996 *Senator (Second Senatorial District) in the Fifth Senate of Palau, 1996–1999 During his last term, he was elected President of the Senate, from January 1993 to November 1996.

2000 presidential campaign

Sugiyama ran for president in the 2000 election. During his tenure as Senate president, he had been a loyal supporter of outgoing president

Kuniwo Nakamura was a Palauan politician who served as the President of Palau from 1993 to 2001. He had earlier served as Vice President of Palau from 1989 to 1993, under Ngiratkel Etpison. Background and early life Nakamura was the son of a Japanese immigr ...

, and hoped to be next in line after Nakamura stepped down at the end of his second term due to

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s. However, in July 2000, Nakamura announced his support for his vice president

Tommy Remengesau Thomas Esang "Tommy" Remengesau Jr. (born 28 February 1956) is a Palauan politician; in 2013 he was elected the ninth president of Palau and was re-elected to that office in 2016. Previously he served as the seventh president of the island nat ...

's presidential campaign. With this strong support, Rememgesau thus came in first in the primaries; out of 9,221 votes cast, he took almost 43% (4,000 votes), against just 22% (2,050) for second-place Sugiyama, with the rest distributed among minister of education

Billy Kuartei Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a young ...

, senator Santos Olikong, and Angaur governor Ben Roberto. The three other losers in the primaries threw their weight behind Sugiyama for the general elections, and he managed to significantly narrow the gap between himself and Remengesau. In the end, out of 10,718 votes (an 81% turnout), Sugiyama lost by a margin of 674 votes.

Death

After a long battle with illness, Sugiyama died on June 10, 2007. He was survived by his wife, two sons (Clarence and Wayne), one daughter (Sarah Lynn), two sisters (Michie and Yosie), and four brothers (Nobuya, John Takaya, George, and Singeru).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sugiyama, Peter 1943 births 2007 deaths Palauan politicians of Japanese descent Presidents of the Senate of Palau University of Guam alumni People from Koror