H.E. Mr. Tommy E. Remengesau
President of Palau
President Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr. of Palau is a recognized environment champion. He was born in Koror, Republic of Palau. For his academic achievements, he attended college in the United States. He entered politics, and in 1984 was elected as Palau's youngest Senator. He went on to become Vice President in 1992 and then President from 2000 to 2008. He regained the office of the President in 2012 and last year 2016. President Remengesau now serves his fourth term in the Office of the President. In his role as President he continues to work towards prioritizing the protection and conservation of the environment and works towards the expansion and growth of the tourism industry through his policy and slogan "Preserve the Best and Improve the Rest." The "best" here, refers to Palau's particularly abundant and diverse underwater resources in the Micronesian region, and its reputation of being considered among the top underwater diving attractions of the world. In Palau's foreign policy, President Remengesau has been active in enhancing Palau's presence at the United Nations and giving Palau a global profile amongst the international community through environmental initiatives some of which follow: In 2005, along with the President of the Seychelles, they founded the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) and continue to provide leadership and support to this initiative, which has catalyzed more than 130 million USD for conservation and support for livelihoods on islands. In 2006, President Remengesau challenged other Micronesian leaders to launch the Micronesia Challenge (an initiative that is being replicated in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean). In his tenure, President Remengesau has successfully championed Palau’s Protected Areas Network (PAN) and the green fee imposed on tourists which supports the protected area network. He has changed the shark fishing laws for Palau to make it illegal to fish for sharks or to keep sharks caught as by-catch. He created the Palau’s Office of Environmental Response and Coordination – an innovative structure that enabled environmental considerations to be integrated into planning at multiple levels. He is a leader in working to ban the odious practice of deep sea bottom trawling – where weighted nets are dragged along the seafloor destroying whole habitats -- banning it in Palau and advocating for a moratorium on it at the international level. As a result of his stand on bottom trawling, the practice has been severely curtailed in international waters. He is a visionary who is advocating for closure of the commercial fisheries for Palau to ensure the health of the reef and to secure local food security as well as protect long-term tourism resources. He continues to lead efforts on oceans and climate change and on a number of environment issues and was instrumental in ensuring that a specific sustainable development goal on Oceans is adopted at the 70th Session of the General Assembly, where the world adopted, the set of Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. In 2015, President Remengesau led the launching and establishment of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, a landmark legislation that moves to close 80% of Palau’s Exclusive Economic Zone to Commercial fishing while maintain the 20% for domestics needs. He was named a Time Magazine Hero of the Environment in 2007 and in 2014 named the UNEP Champion of the Earth. President Remengesau is married to First Lady Mrs. Debbie Remengesau. They have four children and numerous grand children. His hobbies are sports, fishing and diving.