Roman Tmetuchl

Roman Tmetuchl (February 11, 1926 – July 1, 1999) was a Palau political leader and businessman. During World War II, he was recruited to work for the Kempeitai, the Empire of Japan's military police. He later served in the Congress of Micronesia, and went into business, through which he amassed a fortune of US$35 million. He later served as Palau's chief negotiator on the discussions regarding the Compact of Free Association. He ran for president of Palau in the 1988 elections, the final elections conducted under a plurality voting system. He received 26% of the vote, or just 31 votes fewer than the winning candidate Ngiratkel Etpison; the near-tie led elections in Palau to be reformed, and after that they were conducted under majority voting, with a second round if no candidate received more than half of all votes cast.
Palau International Airport was renamed as the Roman Tmetuchl International Airport in his honor in a resolution by the Senate of Palau proposed by senators...