Benjamin Taisacan Manglona ( Chamorro: ''Manglo'ña'') (March 31, 1938 – April 24, 2016) was a Northern Marianan politician and civil engineer. He is the CNMI's longest serving elected official having served as a congressman, senator, and former mayor of Rota (the third largest island in the CNMI chain). Manglona served as the third

lieutenant governor of the Northern Mariana Islands The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has a self-governing government consisting of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. The current lieutenant governor is David ...

from 1990 to 1994 and as Mayor of Rota from 1998 to 2006.

Biography

Early life

Manglona was born on March 31, 1938. He earned a degree in

Engineering Technology An engineering technologist is a professional trained in certain aspects of development and implementation of a respective area of technology. An education in engineering technology concentrates more on application and less on theory than ...

from Honolulu Community College in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

and an

associates degree Associate may refer to: Academics * Associate degree, a two-year educational degree in the United States, and some areas of Canada * Associate professor, an academic rank at a college or university * Technical associate or Senmonshi, a Japa ...

in Civil Engineering Technology from the

University of Guam University of Guam () (U.O.G.) is a public university, 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 and ele ...

. Manglona began his career as a junior engineering aide, before his promotion to

supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position and role that is primarily based on authority over la ...

. He also worked as an assistant

clerk of court A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court and administering oaths ...

and a station manager for

Continental Micronesia Continental Micronesia, Inc. (CMI) was an American company which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. It operated daily flights to Honolulu, Hawaii, as well as international services to Asia, Micronesia and Australia from its h ...

, the major airline of

Micronesia Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Poly ...

Political career

In 1963, Manglona launched his political career when he was elected to the Marianas District Legislature, serving from 1963 to 1965. He then became a representative in the Congress of Micronesia from 1965 to 1970, as the Northern Mariana Islands were 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. The Imperial Japanese South Seas Mandate had been seized by the U.S. during the Pacifi ...

at the time. Manglona became a member of the

Marianas Political Status Commission The Marianas Political Status Commission was a body composed of representatives of the Northern Mariana Islands who negotiated the political status of the Northern Mariana Islands from December 1972 until February 1975. The Commission negotiated wi ...

representing Rota in 1972. He served as the first Vice President of the Northern Mariana Islands' First Constitutional Convention of 1976. In that role, Manglona helped draft the

Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, which was later ratified by voters and approved by the

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

. Maglona took office as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

in the first sitting

Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature The Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature is the territorial legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The legislative branch of the territory is bicameral, consisting of a 20-member lower House of Repres ...

in 1978. He was re-elected to the Senate in each successive election until the sixth Legislature, when he was elected lieutenant governor. Manglona was elected

Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has a self-governing government consisting of a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. The current lieutenant governor is David ...

in the 1989 on the gubernatorial ticket of Lorenzo I. De Leon Guerrero. Manglona was sworn into office in January 1990 and served one term until 1994. He defeated incumbent Mayor of Rota Joseph Songao Inos in 1997 and served for two consecutive terms in office from 1998 to 2006. Manglona was succeeded as Mayor by Joseph Songao Inos on January 11, 2006. In March 2011, the

Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives The Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives is the lower house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. In the 2007 election cycle, the CNMI House membership was increased from 18 to 20. Representatives serve two-ye ...

adopted House Resolution 17-45, which honored Benjamin Manglona for "his distinguished career in

public office Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

and his exemplary contributions to the CNMI." The house resolution, which was authored by Rep. Teresita A. Santos (Independent-Rota), was presented to Manglona on March 29, 2011. On April 6, 2011, the

Northern Mariana Islands Senate The Northern Mariana Islands Senate is the upper house of the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth Legislature. The Senate consists of nine senators representing three senatorial districts (Saipan & the Northern Islands, Tinian & Aguijan, a ...

, where Manglona once served, passed a bill which would rename

Rota International Airport Rota International Airport , also known as Benjamin Taisacan Manglona International Airport, is a public airport located on Rota Island in the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), near the village of Sinapalo. The ...

as "Benjamin Taisacan Manglona International Airport" in recognition of his public service. The bill became law when it passed the House and was signed by Governor

Benigno Fitial Benigno Repeki Fitial (born November 27, 1945) is a Northern Marianan politician who served as the seventh governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. The second longest-serving governor in CNMI history, Fitial was elected on November 6, 2005, assum ...

. N.M.I. Pub. L. 17-53, Sept. 26, 2011. Manglona died on April 24, 2016, in Rota,

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States consistin ...

from a stroke, aged 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manglona, Benjamin 1938 births 2016 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in the Northern Mariana Islands 21st-century mayors of places in the Northern Mariana Islands Chamorro people Lieutenant governors of the Northern Mariana Islands Mayors of Rota (island) Presidents of the Northern Mariana Islands Senate Republican Party (Northern Mariana Islands) politicians University of Guam alumni