the Third Senate of Palau, 1989–1992 Senator (Fourth Senatorial District) in the Fourth Senate of Palau, 1993–1996 Senator (Second Senatorial District) in the Fifth Senate of Palau, 1996–1999 During his last term, he was elected President of the Senate, from January 1993 to November 1996. 2000 presidential campaign Sugiyama ran for president in the 2000 election. During his tenure as Senate president, he had been a loyal supporter of outgoing president Kuniwo Nakamura, and hoped to be next in line after Nakamura stepped down at the end of his second term due to term limits. However, in July 2000, Nakamura announced his support for his vice president Tommy Remengesau's presidential campaign. With this strong support, Rememgesau thus came in first in the primaries; out of 9,221 votes cast, he took almost 43% (4,000 votes), against just 22% (2,050) for second-place Sugiyama, with the rest distributed among minister of education Billy Kuartei, senator Santos Olikong, and Angaur governor Ben Roberto. The three other losers in the primaries threw their weight behind Sugiyama for the general elections, and he managed to significantly narrow the gap between himself and Remengesau. In the end, out of 10,718 votes (an 81% turnout), Sugiyama lost by a margin of 674 votes. Death After a long battle with illness, Sugiyama died on June 10, 2007. He was survived by his wife, two sons (Clarence and Wayne), one daughter (Sarah Lynn), two sisters (Michie and Yosie), and four brothers (Nobuya, John Takaya, George, and Singeru). References 1943 births 2007 deaths Palauan politicians of Japanese descent Presidents of the Senate of Palau University of Guam alumni People from Koror