PNG Prime Ministers and What They Achieved Since 1975-2005
September 12 2005 at 6:41 AM No score for this post
East-West News
1. Sir Michael Tom Somare: Prime Minister — 1975-80, 1982-85 and since 2002
Sir Michael Somare, Papua New Guinea's first and current prime minister, is the enduring "father-figure" of PNG politics.
Critics of Somare's consensus style of leadership, however, complain that it tends to result in a lack of direction.
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Sir Michael was born in 1936 in Rabaul, East New Britain province. Before entering politics, Sir Michael was a teacher and a radio broadcaster.
Three-times prime minister, Sir Michael was twice removed in Votes of No Confidence, first by Julius Chan then by Paias Wingti.
A founding member of the PANGU Pati, Somare first won his seat of East Sepik Regional in 1968. He has held it easily ever since. Somare had a bitter falling out with PANGU in the 1990s and now leads the National Alliance Party which he founded in 1995. He contested the prime ministership after the 1997 elections but was easily beaten by Bill Skate.
During the latter stages of the 1997-2002 Parliament, the then prime minister, Sir Mekere Morauta, pushed through several significant constitutional changes aimed at trying to ensure that PNG enjoyed greater political stability. Ironically, Sir Michael has been the main beneficiary.
One of the changes provided for the governor-general to invite the leader of the party with the most winning candidates to try to form a government. In PNG's political maze this is a huge advantage. Sir Michael's National Alliance won fewer than 20 of the 109 seats in 2002 but that was more than any of the other parties and he had little trouble pulling a coalition together.
Other changes aimed at enforcing party solidarity have helped Sir Michael stay on top and it now seems he will be able to survive a full five year term, something neither he nor any of the other five prime ministers have been able to do since independence.
2. Sir Julius Chan: Prime Minister — 1980-1982 and 1994-1997
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Sir Julius Chan has been prime minister twice and has probably been PNG's most efficient government leader.
Sir Julius was born on Tanga Island, New Ireland Province, in 1939. The son of a Chinese trader who married a New Irelander, he became involved in politics in the 60s and founded the People's Progress Party (PPP) in 1968.
Sir Julius served his first term as prime minister from 1980 to 1982 and was re-elected prime minister in 1994 but lost the seat of Namatanai that he had held for 29 years in the 1997 elections.
Many attributed the defeat to the Sandline Affair; when his government contracted international mercenaries in a bid to crush the Bougainville Revolutionary Army.
After the $US36 million deal became public just three months before the poll, the PNG Defence Force revolted, capturing and deporting the mercenaries.
The PNGDF commander, Brigadier General Jerry Singirok, alleged corruption but two subsequent judicial inquiries could find no evidence that Chan was involved in any corrupt dealings.
He allowed his son to stand for his old seat in 2002 while he contested the New Ireland Provincial seat. Byron Chan won but Sir Julius failed to get back into Parliament.
3. Paias Wingti: Prime Minister — 1992-1994 and 1985-1988
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Coming from the Jika Tribe, Paias Wingti was the first, and so far the only, Highlander to be prime minister.
Wingti was born in 1951 and co-founded the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) in 1985.
He took office in late 1985 after removing Sir Michael Somare in a Vote of No Confidence.
At the 1987 elections he managed to form another governing coalition but fell himself to a No Confidence Vote in 1988.
Returning to power after the 1992 elections, Wingti declared he had wasted his time during his previous reign and that he would "make things happen" in PNG.
He took on the big mining companies, spent up big and tried to win a military victory in Bougainville.
But his support in Parliament evaporated in 1994. The previous year, Mr Wingti had come up with what seemed to be a new way to thwart PNG's regular Votes of No Confidence. He resigned in secret and then had a surprised Parliament re-elect him immediately. If valid it would have won him another 18 months in power free from challenge. But the Supreme Court declared the move unconstitutional ruling that MPs needed at least a day's notice before selecting a prime minister.
The incoming prime minister, Sir Julius Chan, claimed PNG was almost bankrupt and he devalued then floated the Kina.
Like Chan, Wingti was a casualty in the 1997 elections. But unlike Chan, he returned to Parliament in 2002.
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4. Sir Rabbie Namaliu: Prime Minister — 1988-1992
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Sir Rabbie Namaliu is a former academic with a masters degree out of a Canadian University and would probably be better suited to a university professorship than life in the cut-throat world of PNG politics.
It's been said that Sir Rabbie, born in 1948, is far too decent a man to be capable of enjoying long term success in the blackmail prone world cloaking any PNG prime minister.
He served one term as prime minister during which time he was blackmailed: several members of his own PANGU party agreed to step down as ministers (PANGU at the time had a rotation of ministerial portfolios policy) but then threatened to cross the floor and vote him out unless he agreed to provide them with money for "projects" in their electorates.
Later, after losing the prime ministership in the 1992 elections, he faced criminal charges over the matter but was acquitted.
Sir Rabbie served for a time as Speaker of Parliament, a job he did with distinction.
He was appointed foreign minister in Sir Michael Somare's third government in 2002
5. Sir William (Bill) Skate: Prime Minister — 1997-1999
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Bill Skate is perhaps the most controversial politician in PNG, a country with no shortage of colourful parliamentarians.
His major achievement in his term as prime minister, from 1997-1999, was peace on Bougainville.
Skate was born in 1954 and coming from a Port Moresby settlement background, Skate is a hero to many squatter settlers.
While governor of Port Moresby he instituted a scheme under which "youth groups" were paid to construct footpaths and garden beds throughout the city providing work for thousands of young men.
Some critics alleged this amounted to the city administration hiring criminal gangs.
Skate's international reputation was sullied when a former advisor, businessman Mujo Sefa, released video tapes he had secretly recorded of Skate getting drunk on whisky in Sefa's office.
During one of these drinking sessions Prime Minister Skate boasted of being the "Godfather" of Moresby's raskal gangs.
He survived the immediate political fallout because it happened early in his term and PNG prime ministers are constitutionally immune from challenge in their first 18 months in office.
However when his 18 months was up, Skate resigned knowing the numbers were not with him.
Following the 2002 elections, his People's National Congress party (PNC) became a coalition partner in the third government of Sir Michael Somare and Skate was appointed Speaker of Parliament.
However, the PNC left the coalition and Skate lost the position of Speaker when he refused to back Somare's support of a constitutional amendment to increase the time in which government would be immune from No Confidence votes.
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6. Sir Mekere Morauta: Prime Minister — 1999-2002
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Sir Mekere Morauta was PNG's secretary for finance at independence and built himself a fine reputation as an able technocrat.
Sir Mekere was born in Kukipi, Malalaua District, Gulf Province in 1946. An economics graduate, he also served as governor of the Reserve Bank and was once managing director of the Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation.
Morauta won an amazing endorsement by almost the entire Parliament when he became prime minister mid-term in 1999.
But that result was in doubt until moments before the session began and reflected confused capitulation of his opponents rather than wholehearted support.
Australia's regular public praise for Morauta (which followed its often expressed abhorrence of his predecessor, Bill Skate) was probably a burden for him to bear at home.
His resolute battle to get the PNG economy back on track and improve the bureaucracy had mixed results.
Some of his problems stemmed from the fact that he is not a political party man.
He stood as an independent in 1997 and took over Paias Wingti's Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) only after Wingti lost.
Sir Mekere won a tough fight in 2002 to keep his seat of Moresby North West which had rarely returned the sitting Member. But the PDM was routed. Had it held onto only half its seats then the constitutional changes he had convinced the Parliament to adopt to ensure greater political stability would have assured him of another term as prime minister. But Sir Michael Somare's National Alliance won more seats than the PDM thereby giving Sir Michael the front running.
Sydney dwellers, please where you are celebrating the indepence this weekend. A group of us from Melbourne are on the way top join the celebration.
Thankyou
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I believe its at the St George Leagues club in Kogara! Heard from afew peeps that its gonna be big. The fee is $60 per person....party till break of dawn!
Zoii de ultimate!
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