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U.S. Department of the Interior - Office of Insular Affairs
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The Honorable Anthony M. Babauta Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas (AS-IN) U.S. Department of the Interior



Anthony-M-BabautaAssistant Secretary Babauta was nominated by President Barack Obama in July 2009 and, later, confirmed by the United States Senate in September 2009. Currently, he is the highest ranking native Pacific Islander serving in the U.S. government. Assistant Secretary Babauta is the first person of Marianas/Micronesian descent appointed by a U.S. President.Upon confirmation, Assistant Secretary Babauta was appointed as Co-Chair of the Inter-agency Group on Insular Areas. In addition, he serves as a member on the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and the President’s Interagency Task Force and the Senior Policy Operating Group on Anti-trafficking in Persons.

Prior to joining the Department of the Interior, Assistant Secretary Babauta worked on the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee as its Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans, and Wildlife. As Subcommittee Staff Director, he was instrumental in advancing the renegotiated Compact of Free Association agreements with the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act, and legislation addressing the political advancement of Puerto Rico. Assistant Secretary Babauta first joined the Natural Resources Committee in 1998 as Professional Staff under its then Ranking Member, the Honorable George Miller (D-CA); and his service continued under its former Chairman, the Honorable Nick Rahall (D-WV). Assistant Secretary Babauta first worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant to the former Guam Delegate, Dr. Robert Underwood, covering issues relating to the Resources Committee, as well as issues concerning the Departments of Justice and Agriculture and all international work related to the United Nations.

Assistant Secretary Babauta is a Guam native (Chamorro) and spent much of his early childhood on the

U.S. mainland before his family relocated back to Guam in 1982. He is a 1987 graduate of Father Duenas Memorial School and also a graduate of Gonzaga University (Spokane, WA).

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