Eloy Inos

Eulogio Songao "Eloy" Inos (September 26, 1949 – December 28, 2015) was a Northern Marianan politician who served as the eighth governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from 2013 to 2015. Inos, a member of the Republican Party, also served as the eighth lieutenant governor from 2009 to 2013.

He was nominated as lieutenant governor by Governor Benigno Fitial to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Timothy Villagomez. Villagomez was convicted on federal fraud charges. Inos was confirmed by the Senate and was sworn into the lieutenant governor office on May 1, 2009. He was elected to a full term as lieutenant governor in November 2009.

Inos became governor on February 20, 2013, following the resignation of Benigno Fitial, after he was impeached by the House for fraud-related activities. Inos was elected to a full-term as governor in the 2014 gubernatorial election.

Inos died in office on December 28, 2015, local time, in Seattle, Washington, at the age of 66.

Career Inos worked as a tax manager for the now defunct Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands' revenue division. Inos was also a former Vice President of the Tan Holdings Corporation, Villagomez became the highest ranking CNMI official ever convicted at the time. Fitial and Inos had first met years earlier while both were working for the government of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Fitial won re-election, and Inos was elected to a full term, in a gubernatorial runoff election held on November 23, 2009, defeating Republican Heinz Hofschneider. He was originally scheduled to serve as Lt. Governor for a five-year term, instead of the unusual four years due to changes in the election calendar.

Governor

Inos became governor on February 20, 2013, following the resignation of Benigno Fitial. Fitial was impeached by the House, for multiple counts, related to the commission of felonies, corruption and to neglect of duty, but resigned before his trial before the Senate. Inos won election to a full four-year term in the 2014 gubernatorial election.

Death Governor Eloy Inos, died in office at the age of 66 while recovering from open heart surgery in Seattle, Washington, on Monday afternoon, December 28, 2015, Pacific Standard Time (corresponding to 9:45 a.m. Tuesday morning, December 29, Chamorro Standard Time in the Northern Mariana Islands). Inos, who also suffered from diabetes, had been hospitalised in Seattle since November 2015 for treatment. Funeral services for Inos were held on January 12, 2016, which the governor of neighboring Guam, Eddie Calvo, proclaimed as a day of mourning.