Emais Roberts is a

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

an politician and physician who has served as

Governor of Peleliu The governor of Peleliu is the head of government of Peleliu. The position was established in 1983 and a new governor is sworn in on 1 January unless they resign during their term. It is the only States of Palau, state in Palau to have elections ...

since 2022. He previously served as the country's

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

from 2017 to 2021 and led the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Palau.

Early life and career

Roberts received his

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

degree from the

University of Hawaiʻi The University of Hawaiʻi System is a public college and university system in Hawaii. The system confers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees through three universities, seven community colleges, an employment training center, ...

. His surgical residency took place at the University of Hawaiʻi and

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

. He served as Chief Resident Surgeon at Queen's Medical Center,

Kuakini Medical Center Kuakini Medical Center is a private hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. The center is run by the Kuakini Health System which also runs geriatric care facilities and a foundation. History The organization started as the Japanese Benevolent Society in 189 ...

and Kaiser Medical Center in Hawaii. Roberts is also a member of the Belau Medical Society, in addition to being a fellow of the

American College of Surgeons The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a professional medical association for surgeons and surgical team members, founded in 1913. It claims more than 90,000 members in 144 countries. History The ACS was founded in 1913 as an outgrowth of ...

. Robers has served as a member of the

Palau Community College Palau Community College is a public community college in the Republic of Palau. It is the only higher education institution in the nation. It is an independent institution accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and offers a ...

Board of Trustees, Palau Medical Licensure Board and Palau Medical Referral Committee. He owns and runs a private medical

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

called the Family Surgical Clinic.

Political career

On 23 January 2017, he was nominated as

, becoming the first nominee for a ministerial position in President

Thomas Remengesau Jr. Thomas Esang "Tommy" Remengesau Jr. (born 28 February 1956) is a Palauan politician. He served as the Palauan president between 2001-2009 and 2013-2021. He served as a Senator in the Palau National Congress between his two administrations. In ...

's 10th government cabinet. He was sworn in as Minister of Health on 2 February 2017. On 6 June 2017, Roberts visited

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

in which he said he would continue to support Taiwan's bid to attend the

World Health Assembly The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 World Health Organization#Membership, member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of h ...

. In July 2019, Roberts gave a speech at the first Climate and Health Ministers' Meeting in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

in which he highlighted the

effects of climate change on human health The effects of climate change on human health are profound because they increase heat-related illnesses and deaths, respiratory diseases, and the spread of infectious diseases. There is widespread agreement among researchers, health professional ...

especially the effects on Small Island Developing States such as Palau. Beginning in January 2021, he administered the country's COVID-19 vaccination program, with Roberts and president-elect Surangel Whipps Jr. being two of the first to receive the dose of the vaccine in the country. In April 2021, a travel bubble was set up between Palau and Taiwan though by May 2021 Roberts stated that the travel bubble had become a "mute issue" due to new travel restrictions introduced between the countries as a result of Taiwan's rising COVID-19 cases. He was succeeded as health minister by Gaafar Ucherbelau. In May 2021, Roberts stated in an interview with the ''

Island Times An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

'' that he was running as a candidate for

in the December 2021 election; incumbent governor

Temmy Shmull Temmy L. Shmull (3August 194728February 2025) was a Palauan politician who served as Governor of Peleliu for three terms from January 2013 to January 2022. He previously served as the of Palau from 2001 to 2009 and was also the vice president o ...

was no longer eligible, having reached the term limit. He stated that he had agreed to run after being petitioned by the village chiefs and the people of Peleliu. Governor Shmull endorsed him saying that he "has built a house here and loves to spend time here". Unofficial results from an election poll showed him in the lead with 312 votes ahead of former governor Jackson Ngiraingas who received 174 votes. He won the election and was sworn in as governor on 1 January 2022. On 15 September 2022, Roberts commemorated the state's inaugural veterans day by re-opening the Bloody Nose Ridge Monument access trail and acknowledging the

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

for their work on projects in the state such as repairing the monument.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Emais 21st-century Palauan politicians 21st-century surgeons Fellows of the American College of Surgeons Governors of Peleliu Health ministers of Palau Living people Palauan surgeons University of California, Davis alumni University of Hawaiʻi alumni Year of birth missing (living people)