US, FSM and Marshall Islands representatives initial the Compact of Free Association; Palau could not send a delegation.

What happened

Andon Amaraich, the FSM’s Secretary of External Affairs and head of its status commission, initialed the Compact for the FSM; Ambassador Peter Rosenblatt did so for the United States. Palau could not attend because its voters were about to elect their first national government. The draft gave the FSM full internal self-government and control of its foreign relations, while the US kept authority over defense and promised 15 years of assistance.

Why it matters

Initialing was the first of several steps (signing, a plebiscite and US approval) that brought the Compact into force in 1986.