Litokwa Tomeing

Iroij Litokwa Tomeing (14 October 1939 – 12 October 2020) was the President of the Marshall Islands from January 2008 until October 2009.

Biography Early and personal life Litokwa Tomeing was born on Wotje Atoll, in the Japanese-administered Marshall Islands, on October 14, 1939. From 1950 until 1954, Tomeing attended the Catholic Elementary School, first in Likiep and then in Jaluit.

He became a principal and teacher at Ebon Elementary School in 1961, and remained with the school until 1964.

Tomeing served as the Vice Speaker of the Nitijela from 1992 to 1995.

Presidency of the Marshall Islands Following the parliamentary election, he was a candidate in the January 2008 presidential election for the UPP/AKA coalition. He was elected president on 7 January 2008 by the Nitijela, receiving 18 votes over 15 for incumbent Kessai Note. He was sworn in, along with a cabinet composed of ten ministers, on 14 January by Carl Ingram, the Chief Justice of the High Court.

His election was believed to herald a shift from the pro-Taiwan policy of Marshall Islands, possibly marking an end to Marshall Islands–Taiwan diplomatic relations. However, in office Tomeing expressed continued support for ties with Taiwan and met with the vice-president of Taiwan, Annette Lu, when she visited the Marshall Islands on 29 January 2008.

President Tomeing inaugurated a consulate in Springdale, Arkansas, on September 28, 2009. The Marshall Islands currently has embassies in Washington, D.C., and New York City. However, its opening marked the first consulate in the continental United States. is the largest population outside of the Marshall Islands. Tomeing had survived two previous votes of no confidence.