Leo A. Falcam *66

Leo Falcam, the fifth president of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), died Feb. 12, 2018. He was 82.

The Federated States of Micronesia are a group of associated islands in the Caroline Islands in the western Pacific, captured by the U.S. from Japan in World War II. After 1947 they were administered as part of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI), and became self-governing in 1986.

Falcam graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1962. That year he joined the TTPI government headquarters in Saipan, Mariana Islands, as the political-affairs officer for the TTPI high commissioner. From 1965 to 1966 he was a visiting student at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School.

Returning to the Trust Territory government, Falcam became the first Micronesian to serve as acting commissioner. Several increasingly responsible posts followed. From 1997 to 1999, he served as vice president of FSM, and from 1999 to 2003 he was the fifth president of FSM.

At his death, a period of national mourning was declared with the national flag flown at half-staff. Falcam is remembered as a founding father of the FSM, a national leader of integrity, and was known for his kindness to his fellow citizens.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.