CNMI
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan is the first and only delegate to have represented the people of the Northern Mariana Islands in the U.S. Congress. He began service on January 6, 2009 and has been re-elected to office four times.
In the 117th Congress, Kilili became Chair of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education of the House Committee on Education and Labor. He also serves as Vice Chair for Insular Affairs on the House Committee on Natural Resources with leadership responsibility for all insular area issues and is a Member on its National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee. As the lone representative of the Marianas in Congress, Sablan has also been granted a waiver from the Democratic Caucus Leadership for membership on a third and fourth committee. Because of the large number of veterans in the Marianas and the need to improve services to them, Congressman Sablan selected the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He serves on the Health Subcommittee. Congressman Sablan also sits on the House Committee on Agriculture where he serves on the Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations Subcommittee.
Kilili began his legislative career in the 3rd Northern Mariana Islands Legislature. While there, he was appointed as one of the Governor’s Special Representatives to funding negotiations – 702 talks – with the U.S. Department of the Interior. He and his colleagues secured tens of millions of dollars in federal assistance in a rare “front-end load” arrangement that immediately brought federal money to the Northern Marianas.
in November 2008 Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan became the Northern Mariana Islands first Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating eight other candidates. He is also the only Chamorro and only Micronesian member of the U.S. Congress. Kilili is married to Andrea C. Sablan, and has six children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.