Jesse J. Salalu

Jesse J. Salalu is an educator and politician born on Fais, in the Outer Islands of Yap.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Education from the University of Guam. Before entering politics, Salalu worked as a teacher, high school principal, and later as Regional Administrator for the Neighboring Islands under the Yap State Department of Education. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Regents at the College of Micronesia–FSM.

Though 80% of Yap State -and 96% of the Outer Islands of Yap- are Catholic, Salalu is an outspoken Protestant.

Lieutenant Governorship

In January 2014, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Yap, serving under Governor Henry S. Falan. As lieutenant governor, Salalu was viewed as quiet but competent—often deferring to Falan’s reformist agenda while maintaining ties to traditional leaders and legislators from the Outer Islands.

Governorship

In December 2021, the Yap State Legislature voted 8–2 to remove Governor Henry Falan from office. It was widely anticipated that Salalu would resign, vacating the lieutenant governorship. Instead, Lieutenant Governor Jesse J. Salalu was sworn in on December 29, 2021, becoming the 8th Governor of Yap—and the first Outer Islander ever to hold the position.

Salalu’s elevation to Governor satisfied the constitutional requirement that one of Yap’s two top executive leaders hail from the Outer Islands and the other from Yap Proper. However, it also broke the long-standing gentlemen’s agreement that the governorship should remain with a Yapese, while the lieutenant governorship would be filled Outer Islands. Though entirely lawful, this precedent-breaking succession proved deeply controversial, widening political rifts between Yap Proper and the Neighboring Islands.

Governor Salalu’s tenure was marked by cautious administration, procedural leadership, and limited transparency, themes that would dominate his brief time in office.

In April 2022, Salalu faced a defining challenge when nearly forty doctors and nurses at Yap State Hospital resigned in protest over low pay and poor working conditions. Instead of meeting with the striking staff, Salalu issued an emergency declaration while deferring their meeting requests, asserting that the strike violated Yap’s civil service laws. He launched a $241,000 emergency plan to recruit replacement medical staff and reward those who remained, doubling down on a legalistic and disciplinary approach rather than compromise. His decision to reappoint Dominic Taruwemai as acting health director after further internal resignations underscored his preference for procedural order over political negotiation.

The episode coincided with the first community spread of COVID-19 on Yap Proper, magnifying public anxiety and drawing criticism that the government appeared bureaucratically reactive and inflexible rather than responsive.

In the November 2022 gubernatorial election, Salalu sought a full term with Arnold Yokbay Ken as his running mate. Despite the advantages of incumbency, he secured only 35% of the vote, losing to Charles S. Chieng, who successfully unified factions critical of Salalu’s handling of the hospital crisis and broader governance issues, and dissatisfaction with the break in the tradition of the governorship being held by a Yapese.

FSM Congress Candidacy

In September 2025, Jesse J. Salalu announced his candidacy in the special election to complete the term of the late Senator and former President Joseph J. Urusemal. The election, scheduled for November 12, 2025, would determine who would fill the remainder of the term as Yap State’s at-large representative to the FSM Congress. Traditionally, this congressional seat—one of two allotted to Yap—has always been held by candidates from the Outer Islands and is widely regarded as their reserved domain within Yap’s informal balance of representation.

Alongside Salalu, two other Outer Island leaders entered the race: Faustino Yangmog of Ulithi and Andrew R. Yatilman of Satawal. Paradoxically, and in what may be interpreted as a direct response to Salalu’s own precedent-breaking ascent to the governorship, a Yapese candidate, John Mafel, also filed to run—challenging, for the first time, the long-standing understanding that the at-large seat belonged to the Outer Islands.