Hon. Senator Tomaki Juda [pictured, right, in 2007], youngest son of King Juda, was elected for the first time in 1972 as Mayor and served until 2000 when he was elected Senator after the death of Henchi Balos. He was reelected in November of 2003. [elected every 4 years]

***A Tribute to the Late Bikinian Senator Henchi Balos 7/15/46-9/10/00***

Hon. Mayor Kathaejar Jibas was elected for the first time in November of 2007. Mayor Jibas was formerly the Asst. Treasurer for the local government, and for the last 4 years (2003-2007) he had served as a Councilman. [elected every 4 years]

[L to R] Former President (he was Speaker of the Marshall Islands Nitijela at the time of this photo), Hon. Kessai Note, Hon. U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, former Hon. Bikini Senator Henchi Balos, and former Hon. Bikini Mayor Tomaki Juda (now senator) in the U.S. Senate Chamber just before President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial in 1999.

[L to R] Former Bikinian Councilman Simon Jamore, Former Bikinian Mayor Eldon Note, Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Bikinian Senator Tomaki Juda, Washington, DC, July 25, 2002.

Kessai Note, whose father was a Bikinian, was elected unanimously as President of the Marshall Islands on January 3, 2000. He is the first Marshall Islander to be President who does not hold any traditional lines of power. In his role as Speaker of the Nitijela and Senator from Jabot Island, a tenure that lasted for the past 12 years, he became most known for his stand against gambling in the Marshall Islands. Before becoming President, he traveled for many years as a member of the Bikini Atoll local government's delegations. He was reelected for a second term as President of the Marshall Islands in January of 2004. After serving as President of the Marshall Islands for 8 years, in January of 2008, he began serving as a senator from Jabot Island.

Read a Pacific Magazine story about former President Kessai Note [November 2001]

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