Michael Somare
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Sir Michael Thomas Somare GCMG CH (born April 9, 1936 in Rabaul ) was Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea . In his first term from 1975 to 1980 he led the island nation to independence. He held the post of prime minister again from 1982 to 1985 and from 2002 to 2011. Formerly a member of the Pangu Party , he is now the leader of the National Alliance Party .
Life
School and apprenticeship (1936 to 1963)
Michael Somare is the eldest child of Ludwig Somare Sana (policeman from 1922 to 1947) and Kambe Somare, the first of four women to Ludwig Somares. He was born in Rabaul, where his father worked, but grew up in the village of Karau in the Murik Lakes District in East Sepik Province . During the Second World War he went to a primary school of the Japanese occupying forces. After the war he attended Boram Primary School, Dregerhafen Education Center and Sogeri High School, graduating in 1957. For several years he worked as a teacher and returned from 1962 to 1963 for further training at Sogari High School.
Work as a journalist (until 1968)
After his time as a teacher he worked in the not yet independent Papua New Guinea as a radio journalist in Wewak . In 1965, immediately after his marriage to his first wife Veronika, he began further training at the Administrative College in Waigani ( Port Moresby ) and was transferred to the administration.
Political Life (since 1968)
In 1967 Somare co-founded the Pangu Party and ran for the Second House of Assembly in 1968 . Since 1968 he has held the regional seat of parliament for the East Sepik Province . He led the opposition until the 1972 election when he formed a coalition with Julius Chan's People's Congress Party. In 1973, the yet-colonial power dismissed Australia the country into self-government (self-government) and Somare became prime minister. He played an essential role in preparing for 1975 independence and developing the constitution.
In 1980 Somare was overthrown by a vote of no confidence and replaced by Julius Chan . From 1982 to 1985 he was again prime minister.
In 1988, then Prime Minister Paias Wingti was overthrown by a vote of no confidence and replaced by Rabbie Namaliu , who had recently ousted Somare from his post as party leader of the Pangu Party. As a result, Somare founded his own party, the National Alliance Party .
In 1997 he ran again for the post of Prime Minister but was beaten by Bill Skate.
Somares party won a simple majority in parliament in 2002 with 19 out of 109 seats , which gave it the mandate to form a government due to constitutional changes from the previous legislative period that were intended to stabilize political life. He formed a coalition of 17 of the 18 parties represented in parliament. Somare remained in office until the 2007 general election. He is the first prime minister since independence to hold this post for a full five-year term. Peter O'Neill became opposition leader.
Somare resigned voluntarily on December 13, 2010 (step aside) . He had to face a committee of inquiry that investigated him because of missing balance sheets from the 1990s. Sam Abal , who was appointed Deputy Prime Minister on December 7, 2010, took over the post for the duration of the Committee of Inquiry. Although the committee had not finished its work, Somare returned as prime minister on January 17, 2011. The reason given was that the resignation on December 13, 2010 was not legally possible.
In April 2011 Somare flew to Singapore, where he was staying for medical treatment. He was represented by his deputy, Sam Abal . On August 2, 2011, the Parliament of Papua New Guinea declared the office of Prime Minister vacant and elected former Finance Minister Peter O'Neill as Prime Minister. On January 26, 2012, with the mutiny of the armed forces of Papua New Guinea, Somares attempted to regain power with a coup failed .
Michael Somare's son Arthur Somare also hit a political career.
Awards
In the course of his public life Somare received various honors, including some honorary doctorates and memberships in British orders: In 1978 he was accepted into the Order of the Companions of Honor by Queen Elizabeth II , and in 1991 he was named Knight Grand Cross des Order by Elizabeth II of St Michael and St George to hit knight .
Cultural background
He regularly appears in public in traditional clothing. He never let the contact with his village be broken off. Since 1973 he has borne the title "Sana" (peace maker) inherited from his father.
Political background
As a staunch nationalist, he repeatedly takes self-confident and occasionally confrontational positions towards the former colonial power Australia . Somare tries to break the economic dependence on Australia. The Australian Enhanced Cooperation Package (ECP, also known as the " Joint Agreement on Enhanced Cooperation ") from 2004, which provides for extensive personnel assistance in the judiciary and police sector and was supposed to support the budget with A $ 300 million a year , also fell during his reign . but is ultimately only carried out to a lesser extent.
Publications
- Autobiography Sana (1975)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ PAPUA NEW GUINEA LEGISLATIVE ELECTION OF 15 TO 29 JUNE 2002 , accessed November 30, 2007
- ↑ AAP (December 14, 2010) Somare steps aside as PNG PM to face misconduct hearing The Australian (accessed April 1, 2011)
- ↑ (December 9, 2010) New PNG Deputy PM Sam Abal sworn-in Radio Australian (accessed April 1, 2011)
- ↑ AAP (January 17, 2010) Sir Michael Somare resumes PNG prime ministership Radio New Zealand (accessed April 1, 2011)
- ^ New head of government in Papua New Guinea. In: Handelsblatt. August 2, 2011, accessed August 5, 2011 .
- ↑ Knights and Dames: SEL – SU at Leigh Rayment's Peerage
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Somare, Michael |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Somare, Sir Michael Thomas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Papua New Guinean politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 9, 1936 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rabaul , Papua New Guinea |