Jose Rebuenog Lifoifoi Sr. (October 26, 1936 – May 18, 2020) was a Northern Mariana Islander politician. He served as a Republican member of 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 ...

Life and career

Jose Rebuenog Lifoifoi Sr. was born October 26, 1936, in what was then the

South Seas Mandate The South Seas Mandate, officially the Mandate for the German Possessions in the Pacific Ocean Lying North of the Equator, was a League of Nations mandate in the " South Seas" given to the Empire of Japan by the League of Nations following W ...

. He went to Guam College for a time until his father's disability forced him to return to the Northern Mariana Islands. After returning from Guam, he was employed by the Mariana Islands Housing Authority and later as a Housing Officer with the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands government. Lifoifoi was a Refaluwasch leader. He served in the House of Representatives from January 1978 to January 1988. On January 13, 1986, he was elected Speaker of the House, succeeding Vicente Masga "Ben" Sablan. He served as Speaker for the 5th Commonwealth Legislature. In the mid-to-late 1990s, he served as a senior advisor on CNMI and Micronesia-issues to Governors

Carl Gutierrez Carl Tommy Cruz Gutierrez (born October 15, 1941) is an American (U.S. citizen) politician who was the sixth governor of Guam, serving two four-year terms with Lieutenant Governor Madeleine Bordallo from January 2, 1995, to January 6, 2003. Guti ...

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

and

Pedro Pangelinan Tenorio Pedro "Teno" Pangelinan Tenorio (April 18, 1934 – May 21, 2018) was a Northern Mariana Islander politician who served as the second and fifth governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from January 11, 1982, to January 8, 1990, and then from Jan ...

of the CNMI. In 2001,

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 ...

, as the

President of Palau The president of the Republic of Palau is the head of state and head of government of Palau. The president is Direct election, directly elected to a four-year term, and can be reelected once in a consecutive manner. List of officeholders ; ...

, appointed Lifoifoi the honorary consul general to the CNMI. He later was made an honorary citizen of

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 ...

. Lifoifoi died on May 18, 2020, at the age of 83.

References

1936 births 2020 deaths Members of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives Republican Party (Northern Mariana Islands) politicians Speakers of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives {{NorthernMarianas-politician-stub