CARLOS S. CAMACHO was born on the island of Saipan on February 27, 1937. He received a Bachelor of Medicine degree from the Fiji School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Hawaii. Following his graduation, he practiced medicine until he was elected to the Congress of Micronesia in 1967. Camacho then served as the Pacific islands’ chief medical officer of public health from 1969 to 1977 and the president of the Saipan Democratic Party from 1975 to 1977. In 1976, he was appointed to the Northern Marianas Constitutional Convention.

Camacho was then elected as the first governor of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1977. He served one term, leaving office in 1982.