RE-ELECT MR. SURANGEL WHIPPS Jr. FOR SENATOR OEK 2012.

Biography

Sen. Surangel Whipps, Jr. has made history by becoming the first Senator to win by write-in and he also led all Senators with highest percentage (65.2%) of votes in the November 2008 election. Surangel Whipps, Jr. was born in Baltimore, MD in 1968. He is the eldest son of Surangel and Marilyn Whipps. At the age of four he moved with his parents to Palau. Surangel Jr. attended SDA Elementary School and graduated valedictorian from Palau High School in 1985. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Economics from Andrews University in Michigan in 1988. In 1990, he returned to the United States to study at Anderson’s Graduate School of Management at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and graduated in June of 1992 with a Masters in Business Administration. Surangel Jr. began his entrepreneurial work at the age of 10, mowing lawns in his neighborhood. He was highly involved in his parents’ business endeavors throughout his life from taking tourists on a dive boat to selling merchandise out of their home and later their store. While in high school, he spent every afternoon at the store and while in college, he spent every vacation working in the family business. Between his years in college, he worked for Surangel and Sons Co. for a time. Then in January of 1989, he was hired as a Special Assistant to the late President Ngiratkel Etpison. This gave him firsthand experience working with the national government of Palau. Returning to Palau in 1992 after graduate school, he was given the responsibility of running Surangel and Sons Company as President/CEO. He is the Honorary Consul to the Republic of Korea in Palau. Surangel Jr. is also serving as a board member of Palau Shipping. Active in community, Surangel has served as a member on the board of the following organizations: Palau Conservation Society, Workforce Investment Act, and Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. Palau Chamber of Commerce, and COFA Board of Trust Fund. Surangel was also a member of the Second Constitutional Convention held in 2005. Surangel Jr. married Valerie Remengesau in 1999. They have 3 daughters and one son, Moded, Ultei, Ngedrong and Surangel III. In his spare time, Surangel Jr. enjoys fishing, diving, and playing basketball. Surangel Jr. believes in God and is dedicated to his family. He is passionate in his desire to contribute in any way he can to the development of Palau.