Traditional chiefs of Palau

"Chiefs of Palau" redirects here. For chiefs or monarchs of Palau prior to independence, see Spanish East Indies, German New Guinea, and South Seas Mandate.

"Beouch", "Ngiraked", and "Reklai" redirect here. For the sprinter, see Beouch Ngirchongor. For the politician, see John Ngiraked. For the surname, see Reklai (surname).

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 1981.^[1]

List of current chiefs

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Sailors salute reklai of Melekeok Raphael B. Ngirmang in 2013

Former Ibedul of Koror Yutaka Gibbons in 2013. His sister is bilung Gloria Salii and his brother is the current ibedul of Koror Alexander Merep.

The Etpison Museum named for former President and rekemesik of Ngatpang Ngiratkel Etpison. His brother Yukiwo is the rengulbai of Aimeliik and his son Shallum is the uchelsias of Ngesias in Peleliu.

Title	State	Incumbent	Predecessor	Notes
Council of Chiefs
Beouch	Ngardmau	Vacant[2]	Sakaziro Demk[3]
Heimong	Hatohobei	Vacant[2]
Ibedul	Koror	Alexander Merep[4]	Yutaka Gibbons[5]	Title disputed by former Kloteraol James Lebuurakuk "Lebuu" Littler, son of Gloria Salii, who holds the title of Bilung (the female counterpart of Ibedul, and the highest ranking female chief in Palau)[6]|See ibedul succession dispute.
Maderngebuked	Ngaraard	Thomas Remengesau Jr.[7]	Thomas Remengesau Sr.[2]
Ngirakebou	Ngchesar	Vacant[8]	Roman Bedor[2]
Ngiraked	Airai	Yukiwo P. Dengokl[2]	Johnson Toribiong[9]
Ngirturong	Ngeremlengui	John Sugiyama[10]	Yamakazaki Rengiil[2]
Nurap	Sonsorol	Nicholas Aquino[2]
Obak	Peleliu	Vacant[11]	Isao Singeo[2]
Rdechor	Kayangel	Isimang Bandarii[2]
Rekemesik	Ngatpang	Surangel S. Whipps[2]	Ngiratkel Etpison[12]	Title disputed by Uchelsias Shallum Etpison, son of Ngiratkel Etpison.[13]
Reklai	Melekeok	Raphael B. Ngirmang[2]
Rengulbai	Aimeliik	Yukiwo Etpison[2]
Ucherbelau	Angaur	Lorenso Edward[2]
Uongerchetei	Ngerchelong	Mathias Erbai[14]	Victor Joseph[2]
Uongruious	Ngiwal	Vacant[15]	Paulus Wong[2]
Other chiefs
Bilung	Koror	Gloria Salii[5]		Female counterpart of ibedul and highest ranking female chief.[16][5]
Ngiraikelau	Koror	Franco Gibbons[17]		2nd highest ranking chief in Koror.[17]
Uchelsias	Peleliu	Shallum Etpison[13]	Yukiwo Shmull[13]	Specifically chief of Ngesias which is the central portion of Peleliu.[13]

Ibedul

Ibedul is a title given to the high chief of Koror, in Palau, who is also the head of the Idid clan.^[18][19] Koror is the most populated state with approximately 64% of Palauans living there as of 2020 and so historically bearers of the title were erroneously referred to as "Kings of Pelew" despite them not having authority over all of modern-day Palau.^[20][21]

List of known ibeduls

Name	Portrait	Birth	Marriage(s)	Death
Abba Thulle[22] fl. 1783
Ilengelekei[23] 1871 – 1911 (39–40)				1911
Louch[23] 1911 – 1917 (5–6)				1917
Tem[23] 1917 – 1943 (25–26)				1943
Mariur[23] 1943 – 1958 (14–15)				1958
Ngoriakl[23] 1958 – 1972 (13–14)				1972
Yutaka Gibbons[23] 1973 – 4 November 2021 (47–48)		17 January 1944		4 November 2021 Aged 77
Alexander Merep[4] February 22, 2022 – present (2 years, 264 days)				Living

References

1. Shuster, Donald R. (1994). Custom versus a New Élite: Palau’s 16 State Constitutions. The Journal of Pacific History, vol. 29, no. 2. JSTOR. p. 188. Archived from the original on January 1, 2024. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
2. "Council of Chiefs – PalauGov.pw". PalauGov.pw. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
3. Staff, Variety News (September 24, 2008). "Ngardmau joins BWA". Marianas Variety News & Views. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
4. Reklai, Leilani (February 25, 2022). "Ngarameketii accepts Merep as Ibedul". Island Times. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
5. Trumbull, Robert (14 January 1979). "A Former U.S. Army Cook, Now Ruler in. Western Pacific Islands: Leads Foes of Military Bases There". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 29, 2023. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
6. "In Palau, Bilung claims Ibedul is highest title in Palau, rejects Alex as Ibedul". May 17, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
7. "In Palau, working for 'the next generation, and the next, and the next'". Global Environment Facility. March 13, 2023. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
8. "High Chief Ngchesar Ngirakebou Bedor of Ngchesar passes away". Island Times. September 11, 2018. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
9. Reklai, Leilani (June 17, 2022). "'If your titles die out, so will our Palauan culture': Toribiong". Island Times. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
10. "John Sugiyama is the new Ngirturong of Ngeremlengui". Island Times. June 6, 2017. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
11. Reklai, Leilani (June 20, 2023). "Late Chief Obak'ldelolk Isao P. Singeo honored with a Presidential Proclamation". Island Times. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
12. "Honolulu Star-Bulletin 05 Aug 1997, page 2". Newspapers.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
13. Times, Island (December 21, 2018). "Shallum becomes Uchelsias of Peleliu". Island Times. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
14. "Chief Uong Er Etei Victor Joseph honored". Island Times. December 24, 2019. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
15. Reklai, Leilani (November 16, 2021). "Presidential Proclamation honors late chief Uongruios Paulus Wong". Island Times. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
16. Reklai, Leilani (December 31, 2021). "Bilung assumes Ibedul title and claims compensation". Island Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
17. Reklai, Leilani (January 18, 2022). "Bilung as Ibedul takes control of HOTL". Island Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2023.
18. Leibowitz, Arnold H. (1996). Embattled Island: Palau's Struggle for Independence. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-275-95390-4. Retrieved 2022-12-19.
19. "Ngaremeketii/Rubekul Kldeu, Terekieu Clan and Jonathan Ngiremekur Sked, represented by Miriam Kual Appellants vs. Koror State Public Lands Authority, Appellee" (PDF). www.palausupremecourt.net. December 5, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
20. "Palau - 2020 - III.B. Overview of the State". mchb.tvisdata.hrsa.gov. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
21. "Abba Thulle, King of Pelew". www.loc.gov. December 30, 1788. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
22. "Capt Henry Wilson". The British Museum. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
23. Nero, Karen Louise (1987). A cherechar a lokelii: Beads of history of Koror, Palau, 1783-1983 - ProQuest. University of California, Berkeley ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. Archived from the original on December 30, 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2023.