Mr. Kensley Ikosia: newest addition to President Mori’s cabinet

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 17^th 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 17^th 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 4^th 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 22^nd 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