The Leaderboard: Benigno R. Fitial

Who is he?

Benigno Repeki Fitial is the former governor of the U.S. territory the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Fitial was first elected governor in 2005 and reelected for a second term in 2009.

Before his election, Fitial served in several public offices, including Speaker of the House of Representatives for the Northern Mariana Islands Legislature, vice speaker, and minority leader. Fitial is a conservative politician aligned with the Republican Party and is the founder and a former member of the conservative, populist Covenant Party.

Why is he in the news?

Mr. Fitial rose to infamy after becoming the first U.S. territorial governor to be impeached on February 11. The CNMI House charged Fitial with 12 out of 18 counts of felony, corruption, and neglect of duty, including the extraordinary accusation of releasing a federal inmate to perform a late-night massage in 2011.

Fitial also became the first governor to resign February 20 in order to avoid the impeachment trial, citing health reasons. House Speaker Joseph Deleon Guerrero, who authored the allegations, said the same day that he was happy with the resignation, as it would avoid an expensive and lengthy trial process.

What can we expect?

Considering his dramatic retreat from public life, it is unlikely that Fitial be able to continue his political career. His lieutenant governor, Eloy Inos, was sworn in as governor on February 20.

Because Inos and Fitial were closely allied we can expect that Fitial’s resignation is unlikely to affect US interests in CNMI, however Inos said February 21 he has an ambitious agenda, adding that all cabinet positions will be up for review. Inos is expected to run for governor in 2014.

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