[1] The Commission negotiated with a delegation from the U.S. federal government, led by the Personal Representative of the President of the United States, Ambassador F. Haydn Williams, during talks which spanned 27 months.
[1][2] The negotiations resulted in the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America.
Voters in the Northern Mariana Islands approved the proposal in a plebiscite held on June 17, 1975, with 78.8% voting in favor of the Covenant.
[1] President Gerald Ford signed the bill, known as Public Law 94-241 (90 Stat.
263), into law on March 24, 1976, establishing the Covenant with the Northern Mariana Islands.