Joseph Franklin Ada (born December 3, 1943), better known as Joseph F. Ada, is an American (U.S. citizen) politician who served as the 5th Governor of Guam from 1987 to 1995. Before his accession to the governorship, Ada previously served as the 3rd Lieutenant Governor of Guam from 1979 to 1983. He is a member of the Republican Party of Guam. He is the member of the Guam Legislature as the lead speaker from 1975 to 1979 and member as the senator from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1987. Early life Ada was born in Tamuning, Guam, to José "Ping" Torres Ada (1915–1984) and Regina San Nicolas Herrero (1921–2009). He attended the College of Guam for two years before entering the University of Portland, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in corporate finance in 1968. Ada's late grandfather Josef Martinez Ada who owned Ada's Soap Factory in Anigua from the early 1930s until his grandfather's death in 1955. Ada is married to Rosanne Jacqueline Santos and has three children, Eric Ada, Tricia Yoo, and Ester Dela Paz, and has five grandchildren. His wife died on March 18, 2021. Political career before the Ada-Blas Administration Guam Legislature Ada's public career began under Governor Carlos G. Camacho, who appointed him deputy director of the Department of Public Works in 1970. Ada, who had just turned 27 at the time, remained as Public Works deputy director until 1972, when he resigned to make his first bid for elected office. He won a seat in the 12th Guam Legislature as a member of the Republican minority at the age of 28. In the election for the 13th Guam Legislature, the Republicans were swept into the majority and Ada was the overall top vote getter. His colleagues chose him to be Speaker of the 13th Guam Legislature at the age of 31. Ada was a top vote getter again in the 14th Guam Legislature and was again chosen as Speaker. Ada never forgot what Camacho did for him by offering Ada that first leadership position. He followed Camacho's example after he became governor, offering cabinet positions to bright young people, many who became leaders in their own right. During his term as speaker, Ada, a strong advocate of education, established priorities that would remain important to him in the years to come. He cosponsored a bill that created the Guam Community