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Marshall Islands
Oceania
A Pacific island nation known for its nuclear testing legacy, climate change vulnerability, and unique Compact of Free Association with the United States.
N/A
Population
N/A
Area (kmĀ²)
Majuro
Capital
27
Historical Events
Historical Timeline
2025 - Government priorities focus on rolling out new Compact funds, accelerating coastal protection and freshwater security, advancing nuclear-legacy health and cleanup (including Runit Dome monitoring), strengthening Kwajalein community benefits from the missile-range lease, and managing climate-driven migration while preserving language and land tenure.
2024 - Hilda Heine returns as President following the 2023 general election; governance agenda centers on compact implementation, public-finance management, and outer-island equity. U.S. legislation to implement the renewed COFA clears the way for multi-year funding, migration protections, and continued defense cooperation; attention turns to health, education, and climate-resilient infrastructure delivery.
2023 - RMI concludes renewed COFA negotiations with the U.S., targeting long-term budget support, services, and trust-fund strengthening alongside defense arrangements; sea-wall and freshwater projects scale up against king-tide flooding.
2022 - First major community COVID outbreak; temporary states of emergency and vaccination surges follow; recovery efforts prioritize clinics and supply chains.
2021 - Strict border controls keep COVID-19 largely out; economic hit to aviation and outer-island livelihoods prompts aid reprogramming.
2020 - David Kabua (son of Amata Kabua) is elected President; Strict border controls keep COVID-19 largely out; economic hit to aviation and outer-island livelihoods prompts aid reprogramming.
2018 - Parliament passes legislation to launch a national cryptocurrency (SOV); a no-confidence vote fails by one vote, reflecting sharp debates about financial innovation, reputation, and compliance.
2016 - After a brief Casten Nemra tenure, Hilda Heineāthe first woman to lead a Pacific Island nationābecomes President (2016ā2020); governance reforms and climate diplomacy intensify.
2012 - Christopher Loeak becomes President; education, outer-island transport, and climate-adaptation planning advance.
2004 - Amended Compact takes effect, creating longer-term trust-fund arrangements and accountability frameworks.
2004 - Kessai Note (2000ā08) and Litokwa Tomeing (2008ā09) lead fiscal consolidation and service delivery under Compact programs; debates persist over resettlement, health care, and nuclear claims.
1996 - President Amata Kabua dies in office; leadership transitions to Imata Kabua (1997ā2000).
1991 - The UN ends the trusteeship for the RMI; UN membership follows (1991), confirming full international sovereignty.
1986 - Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the U.S. enters into force: the RMI attains sovereign status in free association (defense and some services by the U.S.; migration, aid, and trust-fund provisions for the RMI). The Section 177 agreement sets up mechanisms for nuclear-related compensation.
1979 - Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) constitution takes effect; Amata Kabua becomes first President; internal self-government begins under the TTPI.
1978 - The Marshalls vote not to join the emerging Federated States of Micronesia, choosing a separate path.
1970 - Congress of Micronesia forms; islanders press for self-government and redress for nuclear harms; negotiations on future status begin.
1958 - Final U.S. nuclear test in the Marshalls; in total, 67 tests (1946ā1958) leave enduring medical, ecological, and compensation claims.
1954 - Castle Bravo thermonuclear test produces massive fallout, contaminating Rongelap, Utirik, and fishing crews; long-term health, environmental, and displacement crises follow.
1946 - The UN creates the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) under U.S. administration; the U.S. begins nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll (Operation Crossroads). Bikini and later Enewetak communities are displaced.
1944 - U.S. forces capture Kwajalein and Enewetak in pivotal Pacific campaigns; remaining garrisons are isolated.
1920 - League of Nations grants Japan the South Seas Mandate; Japan builds airfields, ports, and settlements, militarizing key atolls by the late 1930s.
1914 - Japan seizes the Marshalls early in the First World War.
1900 - German protectorate established; the Jaluit Company administers copra trade and taxes; missionaries expand schooling and literacy; traditional chiefly systems adjust to colonial rule.
1788 - British captain John Marshall visits several atolls; later charts popularize the name "Marshall Islands."
1527 - Spanish voyages (Alonso de Salazar; Ćlvaro de Saavedra) sight northern atolls, placing them on European maps; intermittent contact follows via galleons and whalers.
250 - Austronesian (Micronesian) navigators settle the low-lying atolls, perfecting stick-chart wayfinding, outrigger canoes, and breadfruit-coconut agroforestry adapted to coral islands.