Haruo Remeliik

Who is Haruo Remeliik?

Haruo Ignacio Remeliik was the first President of the Republic of Palau, serving from 1981 until his assassination in 1985. Born in 1931, he trained for the priesthood in Chuuk before returning to Palau, where he became an associate judge and entered public life. He won a seat in the Palau legislature in 1968 and rose to vice speaker, then served as deputy district administrator for the Palau district of the U.S.-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands beginning in 1970. Remeliik played a central role in Palau's constitutional development, serving as a member and later president of the constitutional convention that drafted Palau's constitution in the late 1970s. When Palau adopted self-government in 1981, Remeliik was elected its first President and was re-elected in 1984. His presidency navigated the difficult early years of nationhood, including negotiations over the Compact of Free Association with the United States. On 30 June 1985, Remeliik was shot and killed outside his home in Koror, a killing that shocked the young nation; several men, including relatives of a political rival, were later charged in connection with the case. He is buried in Kloulklubed, in his home state of Peleliu, and is remembered as the founding leader of modern Palauan self-government.

Sources: Haruo Remeliik, Wikipedia (accessed 2026) · Killing of Leader Baffles Palau, The Washington Post (18 August 1985) · Palau in the 20th Century, University of Hawaii Digital Collections