Surangel Samuel Whipps Sr. (born 21 February 1941) 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 businessman and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He served as the president of the

Senate of Palau The Senate of Palau is the upper house of the Palau National Congress (''Olbiil era Kelulau''). The Senate has 13 members serving four-year terms in multi-seat constituencies. Since January 2025, the Senate has 15 members. No political parties ...

from January 2005 to April 2005, and from 25 April 2007 to 15 January 2009, and as the speaker of the

House of Delegates of Palau The House of Delegates of Palau is the lower house of the Palau National Congress (''Olbiil era Kelulau''), Palau's bicameral legislature. The Senate of Palau is the upper house. The House of Delegates has 16 members, each serving four-year term ...

from January 1993 to November 1996. He was born in

Airai Airai, located on the southern coast of Babeldaob island, is the second-most populous States of Palau, state of Palau. It contains the country's chief airport, Roman Tmetuchl International Airport, and is connected by the Koror–Babeldaob Bridge ...

. He graduated from

University of Baltimore The University of Baltimore (UBalt, UB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt consists of four colleges in applied arts and sciences, Robert G. Merrick School of Bu ...

in 1971 and returned to Palau in 1972. He began his political career in 1982 when he was elected in his home state,

Ngatpang Ngatpang is one of Palau's sixteen states. It comprises an area of around 47 square kilometers in the west of Palau's largest island, Babeldaob, facing onto Ngeremeduu Bay. It has a population of 282, making it Palau's 9th largest state in popula ...

. In 1984, he was elected by to the

in the Second Olbiil Era Kelulau. He served 16 years in the House of Delegates. He also founded Surangel and Sons Company, of which Ksau's Motors, the only Toyota dealer in Palau, is owned by the company. He is the disputed

Rekemesik Palau has several traditional chiefs of its 16 states. A factor that resulted in the decline of chiefly authority in Palau was the introduction of elected governors, called upon in the Constitution of Palau which came into effect on 1 January ...

Politics

In January 2008, Whipps proposed a bill requiring the

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

to apply not just to Palauans, but to non-resident workers as well. It was reasoned that this would help more Palauans to become employed, due to the increased cost of hiring non-resident workers."Should non-resident workers be granted minimum wage?"
nGelEkeL BeLau, 5 February 2008.

Personal life

Whipps is a member of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

References

1941 births 20th-century Palauan politicians Palauan Seventh-day Adventists 21st-century Palauan politicians Living people Palauan businesspeople People from Airai Presidents of the Senate of Palau Speakers of the House of Delegates of Palau Traditional chiefs of Palau University of Baltimore alumni {{Palau-politician-stub