Palikir replaces Kolonia as the national capital; exact move date not found.

What happened

The new capitol was built with US funds at Palikir, in Sokehs, on land Pohnpei provided; construction began in 1987. A government newsletter from August–September 1989 still called Kolonia the capital, while by March 1991 the newsletter named Palikir and held the presidential inauguration there. Hanlon notes the difficulty of building a capital on “a reserved, not always appreciative Pohnpei.”