Name Hilda Heine | Role Politician | |
One Planet Summit: Interview with Hilda Heine, president of the Marshall Islands
Hilda Cathy Heine (born April 6, 1951) is a Marshallese educator and politician, currently serving as the eighth President of the Marshall Islands, the first woman to hold the office. Prior to assuming office, she served as the Minister of Education. She was the first individual in the Marshall Islands to earn a doctorate degree, and the founder of the women's rights group Women United Together Marshall Islands (WUTMI).
Contents
- One Planet Summit Interview with Hilda Heine president of the Marshall Islands
- Dr hilda heine commencement speech
- Education
- Career
- References
Heine is the first woman to hold the presidency of the Marshall Islands. She is also the first female president of any Micronesian country, and only the fourth woman to serve as head of government for any independent Pacific nation (following Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark of New Zealand and Julia Gillard of Australia). She is one of only three women currently serving in the Nitijeļā, the country's legislature, as of January 2016.
Dr hilda heine commencement speech
Education
Heine attended college in the United States where she earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon in 1970. She earned a master's degree at the University of Hawaii in 1975, and an educational doctorate at the University of Southern California in 2004.
Career
Heine worked at Marshall Islands High School in Majuro from 1975 through 1982, serving both as a classroom teacher and as a counselor. In 2000, Heine founded Women United Together Marshall Islands (WUTMI), a women's rights group. Since 2005, she had been Pacific Resources for Education and Learning's (PREL) Director at the Pacific Comprehensive Assistance Center. Heine participated in the 2009 with the Pacific Islands Climate Change Education Partnership. She has also been associated with the Leadership Pacific Advisory Board, the Commission on Education in Micronesia, and the Human Resources in Health Task Force.
Representing Aur Atoll in the Nitijeļā (Legislature), she became Minister of Education.
On January 27, 2016, Heine was elected President of the Marshall Islands. As sole candidate she received 24 votes with six abstaining and three absent from the 33 members of the Nitijeļā. Heine was sworn into office on January 28, 2016. She succeeded Casten Nemra who was ousted by a no-confidence motion just two weeks after his inauguration.