Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands consists of 180 square kilometers (70 square miles) of atolls and coral islands spread over 1.9 million square kilometers (733,500 square miles) of Pacific Ocean. Two roughly parallel chains of atolls, the Ratak (sunrise) and Ralik (sunset) groups, run along a northwest to southeast axis around 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) west of Hawaii. In the northern part of the group, the Bikini, Rongelap, Enewetak, and Utrik Atolls were affected by sixty-seven U.S. nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958. Further south, Kwajalein Atoll, which encircles the world's largest lagoon, is the site of a sizeable U.S. military base and missile testing facility. Nearly 50 percent of the population, estimated at 58,000 in 2005, resides on Majuro, the national capital, and another 21 percent live on Kwajalein. The rest are dispersed across the remaining twenty-two inhabited atolls or coral islands.
(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)The Marshallese are a Micronesian people, believed to have originally settled the islands from Southeast Asia around three thousand years ago. Claimed by the Spanish in 1874, the Marshall Islands fell under German rule after 1885 and then under Japanese rule following the outset of World War I (1914–1918). After Japan was defeated by Allied forces at the end of World War II (1939–1945), the United States administered the islands as part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, including also the neighboring Caroline Islands, Palau, and the Northern Marianas.
In 1964, a bicameral Congress of Micronesia was established, but Marshallese objections to the centralization of revenues secured from the United States for occupation of the Kwajalein base led to a breakaway from the rest of Micronesia in 1978, and a separate Marshall Islands constitution was ratified in 1979. In 1983, a plebiscite backed a "Compact of Free Association" with the United States. As a result, the country has had fully functioning internal government and significant authority over foreign affairs since 1986, while the United States remains responsible for defense and retains rights to deny military access to other nations. In return, the United States provides substantial financial assistance, equivalent on average to more than half of government expenditure.
The 1979 constitution provides for a unicameral parliamentary system, but with a president elected by members of the Nitijela (parliament), who serves as the head of state. A consultative chamber for traditional leaders, the Council of Iroij has an advisory role but no veto powers. The Nitijela is comprised of thirty-three members elected from twenty-four constituencies for four-year terms. Amata Kabua (1928–1996), the iroijlaplap (paramount chief) for Majuro, became the first president of the Marshall Islands in 1979. He was returned to office after elections in 1983, 1987, 1991, and 1995.
After Amata Kabua's death in 1996, his first cousin, Kwajalein chief Imata Kabua (b. 1943), was selected by the Nitijela as the new head of state. In November 1999, Imata Kabua was defeated at the polls by the newly formed and reform-oriented United Democratic Party. For the first time a commoner, Kessai H. Note (b. 1950), was elected president. The United Democratic Party retained office at the subsequent election in November 2003.
The 1979 constitution provides a strong bill of rights with substantial citizen freedoms and protections. According to the U.S. State Department, there are no recent reports of arbitrary arrest or detention, torture, or politically motivated execution.
Bibliography
Constitution of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1979. <http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/pa clawmat/Marshall_Islands_legislation/Co nsolidation_1988/Marshalls_Constitution .html>.
Fraenkel, Jon. "Strategic Registration from Metropolis to Periphery in the Republic of the Marshall Islands." Journal of Pacific History 37, no. 3 (2002):299–312.
"Marshall Islands." CIA World Factbook. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2005. <http://www.cia.gov/cia/publicat ions/factbook/geos/rm.html>.
Pacific Islands Development Program East–West Center. Pacific Islands Report. <http://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/ pireport/graphics.shtml>.
Republic of the Marshall Islands. 1999 Census of Population and Housing, Final Report. Majuro, Marshall Islands: Office of Planning and Statistics, 1999.
Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site. <http://www.smdc.army.mil/RTS.ht ml>.
Stege, Kristina E. "Micronesia in Review: Issues and Events, 1 July, 2002 to 30 June 2003: Marshall Islands." The Contemporary Pacific 16, no. 1 (2004):126–132.
Stover, Philip. "Marshall Islands." In Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook, ed. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz, and Christof Hartmann. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Yokwe Online: Everything Marshall Islands. <http://www.yokwe.net>.
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