| Felicidad Ogumoro | |
| Office: | Vice Speaker of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives |
| Term Start: | January 2010 |
| Term End: | January 2013 |
| Predecessor: | Joseph Deleon Guerrero |
| Birth Name: | Felicidad Taman Ogumoro |
| Birth Date: | 1 September 1949 |
| Children: | 4 |
| Residence: | Saipan |
| Profession: | Businesswoman Politician |
Felicidad Leiwamal Taman Ogumoro (September 1, 1949 – January 2024) was a politician from the Northern Mariana Islands. She served for some years as a member of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives.
Felicidad Leiwamal Taman Ogumoro was born September 1, 1949.[1] [2] She was born into a poor Carolinian family on Saipan, the daughter of Daniel Rogolifoi Ogumoro and Estefania Taman; she is the eldest of eight children. During her childhood, she trained to become a member of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and attended Mt. Carmel High School, a parochial school in Saipan.[3] She then attended the University of Saint Mary in Kansas and earned a B.A. in sociology. She married Francisco Uludong in 1976 and they remained married until his death in 1991. She and Francisco had four children.[3] She was very involved in the United Carolinians Association and participated in its reestablishment in 2020.[4]
Ogumoro was elected to serve in the 1st Legislature of the Northern Mariana Islands.[3] She was the first woman to serve in the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives.[5] She was reelected in 1979 as a Democrat. During the 1st and 2nd legislatures, she served as the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Health, Education, and Welfare.[6] In the 1981 general election, Ogumoro, again the Democratic candidate, was swept out in a Republican wave election.[7]
After her first tenure in the legislature, she organized Western Pacific Associates, Micronesia's first locally owned public relations and business consulting firm.[8] In the 1990s, she led a small nationalist group called Inetnon Taotao Tano which opposed foreign development in the CNMI.[9] In 1991, she ran for the House from Precinct IV on a platform to establish a trust fund for future generations, fund housing development on homesteads and private property, improve education, and promote entrepreneurship.[10]
In 2001, she left the Democratic Party and joined former Governor Froilan Tenorio in establishing the Reform Party, an affiliate of the American Reform Party.[11] [12] Governor Juan Babauta nominated Ogumoro to the Commonwealth Ports Authority board of directors in 2005.[13]
In the 2009 general election, Ogumoro was elected to the House for a second tenure.[14]
In the 17th Commonwealth Legislature, Ogumoro was chosen to serve as the Vice Speaker of the House.[15] She succeeded Joseph Pinaula Deleon Guerrero who served in the position during the 16th Commonwealth Legislature.[16] In her capacity as Vice Speaker, she served as Acting Speaker when Speaker Froilan Tenorio was off island.[17] Francisco Santos Dela Cruz took over as Vice Speaker for the 18th Commonwealth Legislature.[18]
Ogumoro was a member of the House of Representatives when Janet Maratita was sworn into office in 2011; the two women, alongside Teresita Santos, were the first three to serve simultaneously in the House.[19] Among her areas of interest while in the House was a desire to create a Northern Marianas Cultural Center.[20]
Originally elected as a member of the Covenant Party, Ogumoro chose to follow Governor Benigno Fitial to the Republican Party.[21] Ogumoro was one of four legislators to vote "no" on each article of impeachment against Fitial.[22] Ogumoro was reelected in 2012 and 2014. Ogumoro opted not to run for reelection in the 2016 general election and retired after the 19th Commonwealth Legislature.[23] After leaving the Legislature, Ogumoro was appointed to the advisory board of the Department of Public Lands.[24]
Ogumoro died in January 2024, at the age of 74.[25]