Ramarui was born in Ngchesar in 1925 into a large family, one of eleven siblings.[1][2] He was educated at the Mokko Gakko school during the South Seas Mandate era,[3] before attending the Marianas Area Teacher Training College in Guam.[2] Following World War II he began working as a teacher.[3] He worked at the Palau Islands Intermediate School in Palau and remained involved in education for the remainder of his career.[3] In 1953 he spent a year at the University of Hawaiʻi High School and then continued to the University.[2] Having had to work part-time to pay for his course,[2] in 1957 he received a fellowship to continue studying at the university,[4] which he graduated from in June 1958.[2]
In the late 1950s he became a member of the Palau Congress,[5] and was a delegate of the islands to the Inter-District Advisory Committee (later the Council of Micronesia), and was its Vice-Chairman from 1960 to 1963.[6][7][8] In 1962 he became Education Administrator for Palau, a role he held until 1968.[8]
He contested the 1965 elections to the TTPI Senate, losing to Roman Tmetuchl. However, he defeated Tmetuchl in the 1966 elections.[9] He served as a Senator until the 1970 elections. In 1971 he was appointed Deputy Director of Education of the TTPI, and two years later became Director.[8]
After Palau separated from the Trust Territory, Ramarui ran for the presidency in the 1980 elections, finishing last in a field of five candidates. He was appointed Minister of Social Services in October 1982,[10] a role he held until his death in Koror in April 1984. He was given a state funeral.[3]
