Government of the Federated States of Micronesia

President Mori Submits Two More Nominations

Palikir, Pohnpei (Office of the President): September 18, 2007 - Before departing Tuesday, September 18th, for his first appearance at the United Nations General Assembly as a head of state, FSM President Mori had breakfast with the members of Congress and urged the members' support of the President's various measures now before the Congress.

The day before, the President had submitted two more of his cabinet nominations for the newly reorganized Executive Branch. The two nominations were: (1) former Kosrae State Lt Governor and former JCN Chairman, Mr Gerson Jackson, for Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and (2) recently terminated General Manager of the Pohnpei Uitilities Corporation and former FSM Secretary of Resources and Development, Mr Marcellino Actoucka of Pohnpei for Secretary for the Department of Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure.

Other nominations already pending and awaiting official actions of the Congress were: (1) Mr Robert Speigel for the new Department of Health and Social Affairs; (2) Mr Roger Mori for the Department of Resources and Development; (3) Mr Andrew Yatilman for the new Office of Environment Protection and Emergency Management; (4) Mr Fabian Nimea for the new Office of Statistics, Budget, Overseas Development Assistance and Compact Management; and (5) Mr Dana Wesley Smith as Attorney General and Secretary for the Department of Justice. This group of nominations has been pending before the Congress since the July 2007 Special Session. A recent FSM Attorney General Opinion has advised the President that failure of the Congress to act on the second batch of nominations at the end of two consecutive sessions will amount to a rejection of the nominations.

The remaining offices and departments under the President's new organization that still do not any nominations are the new Department of Education, the Postal Service, the Archive and Historic Preservation and all of the overseas embassies. The search is still ongoing for nominees for all those positions, especially for a Secretary of Education.