Antonio Borja Won Pat was the first Delegate

Delegate (United States Congress)

A delegate to Congress is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives who is elected from a U.S. territory and from Washington, D.C. to a two-year term. While unable to vote in the full House, a non-voting delegate may vote in a House committee of which the delegate is a member...

 from Guam

Guam

Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...

 to the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

.

He was born in Sumay, Guam, and worked as a teacher. He was first elected to the Advisory Guam Congress in 1936. In 1951 he became speaker of the Guam Assembly. In 1965 he was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 as Guam’s first representative to Washington, DC. He was re-elected in 1968 and served until 1970. In 1972, he was elected as Guam's first delegate to Congress

Delegate (United States Congress)

A delegate to Congress is a non-voting member of the United States House of Representatives who is elected from a U.S. territory and from Washington, D.C. to a two-year term. While unable to vote in the full House, a non-voting delegate may vote in a House committee of which the delegate is a member...

. He served six terms, until he was defeated for re-election in 1984 by Republican Ben Blaz.

Won Pat retired to Sinajana, Guam, and died in Silver Spring, Maryland

Silver Spring, Maryland

Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...

. He is interred in the Veterans Cemetery, Piti

Piti

Pīti in Pali is a mental factor associated with the concentrative absorption of Buddhist meditation. Piti is a very specific joy associated with a state of deep tranquillity...

, Guam. The Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport

Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport

Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport , also known as Guam International Airport, is an airport located in Tamuning and Barrigada, three miles east of the capital city of Hagåtña in the U.S. territory of Guam. It is named for Antonio Borja Won Pat, the first delegate from Guam to the United...

 is named for him.

Won Pat and his late wife, Ana Salas Perez, are the parents of the Speaker of the Legislature of Guam

Legislature of Guam

The Legislature of Guam is the territorial legislature of Guam. The legislative branch of the unincorporated U.S. territory is unicameral, with a single house consisting of fifteen senators, serving for a two year term...

, Judith Won Pat.

External links

• NYTimes obituary
• Congressman Antonio B. Won Pat Biography at Guampedia, Guam's Online Encyclopedia