Micronesia Government and Politics
The Micronesia Federation is, after the 1979 Constitution, a federal and democratic state. The country has an agreement on free association with the United States, established in 1986, renegotiated in 2004. US responsibility for the country’s security. The four states of the federation are Kosrae, Yap, Pohnpei and Chuuk. The Supreme Legislature of the Federation has added a congress of 14 senators. Four senators are elected by the states and sit for four years. The other ten are chosen for two years from smaller circles, divided by population size. An executive has been added to a president, who is elected by Congress from among the four state representatives. The presidential office switches between the states.
The four states have their own constitutions, elected legislative assemblies and governors. At the local level there are municipalities and villages. Elected magistrates and councils lead the municipalities, while the villages are traditionally managed.
The judiciary
The judiciary includes a Supreme Court and state and appellate courts.
Micronesia Federation International Relations
The Micronesia Federation is a member of the UN (from 1991) and most of the UN’s special organizations, including The World Bank, by the way Pacific Islands Forum.
State and politics
The Micronesia Federation is a federal republic with a free association with the United States. The islands are divided into four groups that make up states. Formal political parties are missing. It is a one-chamber parliament with 14 members; 4 are elected by the states and sit for 4 years.
The states, which have a high degree of autonomy with their own constitutions, elected state assemblies and governors. The president is both the head of state and the head of government; President since 2007 is Emanuel Mori.
The judiciary includes state courts and a Supreme Court.
Foreign policy is close to that of the United States. The United States is in charge of defense. The Micronesia Federation is a member of UN and Pacific Islands Forum.
History and Politics
The long road to independence
The islands were probably settled as early as 2000 BC. A form of state is said to have existed on the island of Yap very early.
The interest of the colonial powers in these remote islands was initially not particularly great. The Portuguese came first, back in the 16th century. This was followed by the Spaniards and, in 1899, the Germans who bought the land from the Spaniards. Like other islands in the South Pacific, the small islands were then part of the German New Guinea colony.
The Germans were followed by the Japanese, who occupied the islands at the beginning of the First World War and then received a mandate from the League of Nations in 1920. This is how many Japanese settlers came to the islands. The land began to be used economically and large sugar cane plantations were established on the volcanic islands.
Coconut palms were planted on the coral islands and copra and coconut oil were obtained from them, which were sold. At the same time the Japanese strengthened their position on the islands militarily.
During the Second World War, the Japanese attacked New Guinea and other Allied bases from the islands. There are still a lot of holdovers from that time today. Above all, this includes the wrecks of ships that were destroyed during the war. Divers love to explore these underwater worlds – especially in the Chuuk region.
In 1947 the region became the United States Trust Territory. The Americans set up military bases here. They carried out their nuclear weapons tests on the “neighboring” Marshall Islands.
It was not until 1979 that the four states of Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk and Yap merged to form the “Federated States of Micronesia”. At the same time an agreement was signed with the USA. It stipulated that the USA would continue to be responsible for the defense of the country and that the states had to support them financially. In return, the Americans helped determine the foreign policy of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Independence
The Federated States of Micronesia did not achieve final independence until 1991, when the United States’ trust expired. However, responsibility for defense remained with the USA. In 1991 the states were admitted to the United Nations. The presidents sought to expand fishing and tourism in order to become increasingly independent from the United States.
Today the Federated States of Micronesia consist of four federal states, each state having its own constitution. Each state has its own rights and its own government.
