CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · People & Ideas

Christopher Loeak

Marshallese politician, president of the Marshall Islands (2012–2016)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ12911 ↗
Source-derived summary

Iroijlaplap Christopher Jorebon Loeak (11 November 1952 – 8 August 2025) was a Marshallese politician who was the President of the Marshall Islands from 2012 to 2016. He was elected by parliament as President in January 2012, following the 2011 general election.

Background

Loeak was born on the Ailinglaplap Atoll on 11 November 1952. He attended Marshall Islands High School before traveling to the United States to study at the Hawaii Pacific College and Gonzaga University School of Law. Loeak was a native speaker of Marshallese and also spoke English. He was married to Anono Lieom Loeak and had three children, along with eight grandchildren.

Loeak died in Honolulu under medical care on 8 August 2025, at the age of 72.

Political career

Loeak was first elected to the Nitijela in 1985 when he represented the Ailinglaplap Atoll. He served in the cabinet of President Amata Kabua as Minister of Justice from 1988 to 1992. He became Minister of Social Services in 1992 and held that post until 1996 when Kunio Lemari became acting president on the death of Kabua and Loeak became Minister of Education.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Christopher Loeak” as marshallese politician, president of the Marshall Islands (2012–2016). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Christopher, Loeak and Marshallese.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1952, 2025, 2012, 2016—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1952-11-11. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Christopher, Loeak and Marshallese providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Christopher Loeak”, the useful work is to connect “marshallese politician, president of the Marshall Islands (2012–2016)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q12911. VIAF identifies the subject as 3989153472521945360004. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1952, 2025, 2012 and 2016.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Christopher Loeak”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Christopher Loeak primary sources, Christopher Loeak archive and Christopher research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Christopher Loeak”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Christopher Loeak” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.