Banny deBrum served as ambassador from the Marshall Islands to the United States from 1996 until his death in Honolulu on March 16, 2011, except for a 20-month period in 2008-2009.

 

DeBrum graduated from Xavier High School in Micronesia in 1977, and Regis University, a Jesuit institution in Denver, Colorado, with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology in 1981.

 

In 1987, he became deputy chief of mission in the Marshall Islands embassy in Washington. Eight years later he was elevated to chargé d’affaires when then-Ambassador Wilfred Kendall resigned to seek a seat in parliament.

 

After serving as ambassador to the U.S. for more than 11 years, deBrum was removed from the position in January 2008 when a new government took power. He was reappointed in September 2009.

 

DeBrum’s career included serving as acting permanent representative in the absence of the Marshall Islands ambassador to the United Nations. He has also served as ambassador to Canada beginning June 29, 1999.

 

Beginning in 1994, he served as chairman of the Washington Pacific Committee, composed of representatives of Pacific embassies. The committee promotes regional, political and cultural interests in Washington D.C. In February 2009, deBrum was appointed the high steward of Euclid University, a distance learning organization founded in the Central African Republic.

 

DeBrum and his wife, Honor deBrum, had four children and five grandchildren.

 

Biography (Department of Energy) (pdf)