Bill Skate

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Sir William Jack Skate KCMG (September 26, 1953 – January 3, 2006) was a Papua New Guinea politician and statesman. Though his career was turbulent and often marked by setbacks, he served in the highest posts in his country: Prime Minister, Speaker of the National Parliament, and acting Governor-General.

He was Prime Minister from 1997 to 1999 and resigned after 18 months, fearing that he would lose a challenge. In 2002, his political party the People's National Congress (PNC) became a coalition partner in the government of Michael Somare and Skate became Speaker of the National Parliament. He was appointed acting Governor-General in November 2003, a constitutional requirement when that office falls vacant. Sir Pato Kakeraya was scheduled to take up the office on January 20, 2004, but Skate continued to act in the office because of court challenges to Kakeraya's election. On March 3, 2004, Skate was suspended as acting governor-general because of allegations that he misappropriated funds during the 1990s. He then advised the Prime Minister to appoint a cabinet minister as acting governor-general. The following day, however, he was cleared of the financial charges in court, and he became acting governor-general again. In May 2004, his party left the coalition when he and other members refused to support a constitutional amendment supported by Somare which would have given the government more time to be immune to no confidence votes. As a result, the PNC became the largest opposition party. On May 28, 2004, Skate ceased to be Speaker when the parliament elected a pro-government candidate, Jeffrey Nape. The office of governor-general was still vacant at that stage, so Nape automatically succeeded Skate as acting governor-general.

Bill Skate was knighted in January 2005 for services to parliament, becoming Sir William Skate.

He died in hospital on 3 January 2006, in Brisbane, Australia, where he had been airlifted after suffering a stroke in late December 2005. He was buried in Port Moresby. He was the first Papua New Guinea Prime Minister to die.

See also: List of national leaders.

Preceded by Sir Julius Chan	Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea 1997–1999	Succeeded by Sir Mekere Morauta
Preceded by Sir Silas Atopare	Governor-General of Papua New Guinea (acting) 2003–2004	Succeeded by Jeffrey Nape (acting)
Preceded by Sir Silas Atopare	Speaker of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea 2002–2004	Succeeded by Jeffrey Nape