|
President Mori administering the oath of office to Mr. Ikosia |
FSM Information
Services (October 19, 2012): The swear in ceremony for Mr. Kensley Ikosia, Secretary of the
Department of Finance and Administration, took place on October 15 when President
Manny Mori administered the oath of office at the President’s Conference Room,
witnessed by other cabinet members, staff from various departments, and family
members.
The addition of Mr. Ikosia to the cabinet, along with Mrs.
April Dawn Skilling three days earlier, moved the long-dragged process to near
completion with the post of Consul General in Honolulu yet to be occupied.
As his immediate action in organizing his new administration
after given a second term by the newly organized 17th Congress on
May 11, 2011, President Mori chose to retain the current Deputy Chiefs of
Mission (DCM), maintaining stability and operations at the foreign missions while
working with Congress on staffing his cabinet for the next four years.
Responding to the urgent need to provide officials in charge as DCM at the
foreign offices, during its First Regular Session, the 17th Congress
confirmed Mr. Stanislaus Kensof for the FSM Embassy in Fiji; Mr. James A.
Naich, FSM Embassy in Washington D.C.; Mr. Carl D. Apis, FSM Embassy in China;
Mr. Renster P. Andrew, FSM Embassy in Japan and Mr. Jeem Lippwe, FSM Permanent
Mission at the United Nations, New York.
Nearly two months after its first session, Congress was
summoned for its First Special Session in late July by President Mori primarily
to work on the 21 nominations of seven department secretaries, five
ambassadors, three office directors, the Post Master General, two Consul
Generals, the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Chief
Public Defender and the National Public Auditor. Out of these nominations, ten were approved on
the 4th of October, seven followed two days later while the
remaining four had to be let go for later action by Congress. These four were
the positions of Secretary of Finance and Administration, Secretary of Justice,
Ambassador to the United States and the Consul General in Hawaii. Mr. Asterio
R. Takesy was renominated for the ambassadorial post on November 17 and gained
favor of Congress on the 22nd of the same month.
The remaining three posts proved to have been the most
critical as the President and Congress volleyed nominations and extended the
review and consultation process over
fifteen months for the Department of Justice and the Department of Finance and
Administration, and still going at it for the Hawaii Consul General post.
Secretary Ikosia, the third nomination for the post that
oversees the treasury of the National Government, was
recruited from the Yap State Government where he had been serving as the Director
of the Office of Planning and Budget for the current administration until this
new assignment. He has served in a number of state and national capacities,
including being the Deputy Director for the FSM Joint Compact Negotiations
Secretariat, administering the work of the JCN Committee that was formed in
1997 to work on the renegotiated components of the Compact of Free Association
with the United States that became effective in 2004.
During the swear in ceremony, President Mori expressed his
appreciation to Congress, congratulated Mr. Ikosia and asked for collaborations
from departments and offices in moving forward the next two-and-a-half years.
To have a fuller view on the status of the President’s
cabinet to date, please refer to the table below.
Nominee
|
Position
|
Nomination introduced
|
Nomination
confirmed
|
Mr.
Andrew Yatilman
|
Director,
OEEM
|
7/25/11
|
10/04/11
|
Mr.
Akilino Susaia
|
Ambassador
to China
|
7/25/11
|
10/04/11
|
Mr.
Gerson Jackson
|
Ambassador
in Fiji
|
7/25/11
|
10/04/11
|
Mrs.
Ginger Porter Mida
|
Post
Master General
|
7/25/11
|
10/04/11
|
Mrs.
Jane J. Chigiyal
|
Ambassador
to UN
|
7/25/11
|
10/04/11
|
Mr. John
Fritz
|
Ambassador
to Japan
|
7/25/11
|
10/04/11
|
Mr.
Lorin S. Robert
|
Secretary
of Foreign Affairs
|
7/25/11
|
10/04/11
|
Mr.
Marion Henry
|
Secretary
of R&D
|
7/25/11
|
10/04/11
|
Mr.
Robert Ruecho
|
Consul
General, Guam
|
7/25/11
|
10/04/11
|
Mr.
Samson Pretrick
|
Deputy
Secretary, DFA
|
7/25/11
|
10/04/11
|
|
|
|
|
Mr.
Albert T. Welly
|
Director,
Election Office
|
7/25/11
|
10/06/11
|
Ms.
Evelyn Adolph
|
Director,
SBOC
|
7/25/11
|
10/06/11
|
Mr.
Francis Itimai
|
Secretary,
Dept. TC&I
|
7/25/11
|
10/06/11
|
Mr.
Haser Hainrick
|
National
Public Auditor
|
7/25/11
|
10/06/11
|
Mr.
Julius Joey Sapelalut
|
Public
Defender
|
7/25/11
|
10/06/11
|
Dr.
Rufino Mauricio
|
Secretary,
Dept. Education
|
7/25/11
|
10/06/11
|
Dr. Vita
A. Skilling
|
Secretary,
Dept. HSA
|
7/25/11
|
10/06/11
|
|
|
|
|
Mr.
Asterio R. Takesy
|
Ambassador,
USA
|
*11/17/11
|
11/22/11
|
|
|
|
|
Mrs.
April Dawn Skilling
|
Secretary
of Justice
|
5/24/12
|
9/18/12
|
Mr.
Kensley Ikosia
|
Secretary
of Finance and Administration
|
5/09/12
|
9/18/12
|
*Resubmitted per resolution of Congress