Benigno Fitial
Benigno Fitial | |
|---|---|
Fitial in 2009 | |
| 7th Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands | |
| In office January 9, 2006 – February 20, 2013 | |
| Lieutenant | Timothy Villagomez Eloy Inos |
| Preceded by | Juan Babauta |
| Succeeded by | Eloy Inos |
| Speaker of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives | |
| In office January 12, 2004 – January 9, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Heinz Hofschneider |
| Succeeded by | Oscar M. Babauta |
| In office January 10, 2000 – January 14, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Diego T. Benavente |
| Succeeded by | Heinz Hofschneider |
| In office January 11, 1982 – January 9, 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Joaquin Pangelinan |
| Succeeded by | Vicente M. Sablan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Benigno Repeki Fitial November 27, 1945 |
| Party | Republican (pre-2001, since 2011) Covenant (2001–2011) |
| Spouse | Josie Padiermos |
| Children | 6 |
| Education | University of Guam (BBA) |
Benigno Repeki Fitial (born November 27, 1945) is a Northern Mariana Islander politician who served as the seventh governor of the Northern Mariana Islands from January 4, 2006 until his resignation on February 20, 2013.
Fitial was the first elected governor of Carolinian descent in the United States generally and the Northern Mariana Islands specifically. The second longest-serving governor in CNMI history, he was also the first territorial governor to be impeached. He resigned less than two weeks after his impeachment, on February 20, 2013, after 7 years, 1 month, and 11 days in office.
During his political and business career, Fitial was a prominent figure in the advancement and maintenance of the exploitative practices of the then-luxurative garment industry in the Commonwealth including the mistreatment of foreign workers and an opponent of the “federalization” of the then locally controlled immigration system.