Joseph Franklin Ada

Ada was born in Tamuning, Guam, to José "Ping" Torres Ada (1915–1984) and Regina San Nicolas Herrero (1921–2009).

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.

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.

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 public career began under Governor Carlos G. Camacho, who appointed him deputy director of the Department of Public Works in 1970.

Ada led the fight to prevent massive personnel lay offs at Guam's Ship Repair Facility (SRF) in the mid-1970s.

He traveled to Washington, D.C., and presented Guam's case to forestall the closure of SRF, saving hundreds of local jobs.

Twenty years later the shipyard was privatized but the jobs were still there.

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 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.

In the election of 1978 Ada was asked by Sen. Paul Calvo to join him as his running mate for the Republican nomination as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Guam.

The two won the election and Ada, now 35, became the Lt. Governor of Guam.

Believing strongly that the future of the region depended on unspoiled ocean resources and fisheries, Ada led the fight to stop both the United States and Japan from dumping nuclear and chemical wastes into the Pacific Ocean.

He presented the Pacific case in Washington and in Tokyo and helped stop the plan for ocean dumping of nuclear waste.

Ada was elected Lt. Governor of Guam with running mate Paul McDonald Calvo in 1978, but declined the opportunity to serve as Calvo's running mate for re-election in 1982 and instead returned to the legislature.

Calvo lost the subsequent election to Ricky Bordallo.

Ada is the only Guam political leader to serve as Speaker, lieutenant governor and governor.

He stewarded Guam's economic expansion and pushed, successfully, for return of land held by the US military.

When Ada began his first term Guam was in the throes of an economic recession with the government suffering under a crushing deficit.

Ada put all his administration's efforts toward Guam's economic recovery, and eventually he presided over one of the fastest growing and strongest economies in the island's history due in part to a growth in tourism from a booming Japanese economy.

He launched an austerity program at the start of his term and followed it with a program to encourage investment and trade from Asia.

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.

Ada declined to run for a second term with Calvo in 1982 and chose instead to return to the legislature.

Topping the polls again, he was elected to the 17th and 18th Guam Legislatures in 1982 and 1984.

The Republicans, however, were in the minority during these terms and it was difficult to make progress.

Ada then decided to run for governor.

His running mate and lieutenant governor was former senator Frank Blas.

Ada served numerous terms in the Guam Legislature, becoming the first Republican speaker of the legislature when the Republicans captured control of the body from the Democratic Party.

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 College and made a substantial investment in vocational education.

As Speaker, he also pushed for additional funding for recreation and sports programs especially for Guam's youth.