Palau
(also known as Belau)
Country comprising more than 350 islands and atolls (mostly
uninhabited) in the W Pacific Ocean.
Government
The 1981 constitution, amended 1992, provides for a bicameral legislature,
consisting of a 14-member Senate and a 16-member House of Delegates,
both serving four-year terms. The president is directly elected
for a similar term and heads an eight-member cabinet, which includes
a vice president. There is also a presidential advisory body,
composed of the paramount chiefs of the country's 16 constituent
states. Each state has its own elected legislature and governor.
History
Initially colonized by Spain, the islands became a German possession
1855, when they were known as Palau. They were placed under Japanese
administration by the League of Nations 1921. In 1944 the USA
made the archipelago a base for its forces as they moved across
the Pacific towards Japan, and in 1947 it became part of the United
Nations (UN) Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The islands
achieved republican status 1981, under the name of Belau. US policy
of agreeing a Compact of Free Association with the trust territories,
as a prelude to self-determination throughout Micronesia, was
not implemented in the case of Palau because its constitution
precluded the transit and storage of nuclear materials on the
islands, as requested by the USA. Successive referenda failed
to secure the 75% majority support required to amend the constitution
until in 1992 the requirement was reduced to a simple majority.
A further referendum Nov 1993 approved the necessary constitutional
amendments, thereby opening the path towards independence.
In the meantime, two of the country's presidents had suffered
violent deaths : Haruo Remeliik in 1985, at the hands of political
opponents, and Lazarus Salii in 1988, by his own hand. Kuniwo
Nakamura was elected president 1992, when the constitution was
amended to allow for internal self-government.
Palau became an independent nation, with the USA retaining responsibility
for its defence and foreign policy, Oct 1994, and the following
month joined the United Nations.
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