Traditional chiefs of Palau

Palau has several traditional chiefs of its 16 states. A factor that resulted in the decline of chiefly authority in Palau was the introduction of elected governors, called upon in the Constitution of Palau which came into effect on 1 January 1981.

List of current chiefs

Title State Incumbent Predecessor Notes BeouchNgardmauDemei ObakrairurSakaziro DemkHeimongHatohobeiVacantIbedulKororAlexander MerepYutaka GibbonsSee ibedul succession dispute.MaderngebukedNgaraardThomas Remengesau Jr.Thomas Remengesau Sr.NgirakebouNgchesarAndres MadraisauRoman BedorNgirakedAiraiYukiwo P. DengoklJohnson ToribiongNgirturongNgeremlenguiJohn SugiyamaYamakazaki RengiilNurapSonsorolNicholas AquinoObakPeleliuVacantIsao SingeoRdechorKayangelIsimang BandariiRekemesikNgatpangSurangel S. WhippsNgiratkel EtpisonTitle disputed by Uchelsias Shallum Etpison, son of Ngiratkel Etpison.ReklaiMelekeokRaphael B. NgirmangRengulbaiAimeliikYukiwo EtpisonUcherbelauAngaurLorenso EdwardUongercheteiNgerchelongMathias ErbaiVictor JosephUongruiousNgiwalVacantPaulus Wong Other chiefsBilungKororGloria SaliiNgerdokoFemale counterpart of ibedul and highest ranking female chief.NgiraikelauKororFranco Gibbons2nd highest ranking chief in Koror.UchelsiasPeleliuShallum EtpisonYukiwo ShmullSpecifically chief of Ngesias which is the central portion of Peleliu.

Ibedul

Ibedul is a title given to the high chief of Koror, in Palau, who is also the head of the Idid clan. Koror is the most populated state with approximately 64% of Palauans living there as of 2020. Historically, bearers of the title were sometimes erroneously referred to as "Kings of Pelew" despite them not having authority over all of modern-day Palau.

List of known ibeduls

| Abba Thulle

| Ilengelekei1871–1911()

| 1911 |- | Louch1911–1917()

| 1917 |- | Tem1917–1943()

| 1943 |- | Mariur1943–1958()

| 1958 |- | Ngoriakl1958–1972()

| 1972 |- | Yutaka Gibbons1973–()

| Aged 77 |- | Alexander Merep–present()

|Living

References