Michael Somare

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Michael Somare
Grand Chief the Right Honourable Sir Michael Somare GCMG with former Prime Minister of Japan Junichiro Koizumi
1st, 3rd and 10th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
Incumbent
Assumed office  1975–1980 1982–1985 2002–Present
Preceded by	First Papuan Prime Minister (1975) Julius Chan (1982) Mekere Morauta (2002)
Succeeded by	Julius Chan (1980) Paias Wingti (1985) Incumbent
Born	April 9, 1936 Rabaul, New Britain
Political party	National Alliance Party
Spouse	Veronica Somare

Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare, GCL, GCMG, CH, CF, KStJ (born 9 April 1936) was Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from independence in 1975 until 1980, from 1982 until 1985, and again since 2002. His first two terms were as a member of the Pangu Party, but he is now leader of his National Alliance Party.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Political life and the beginning of the PNG Independence movement 3 Personal life 4 Honours 5 Between Prime Ministerships 6 Somare House 7 Shoes episode 8 Fifty kina note 9 Awards 9.1 Commonwealth Honours 9.2 Foreign Honours 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Early life

Grand Chief the Right Honourable Sir Michael Somare was the son of Ludwig Somare Sana and Kambe Somare. Ludwig Somare was a policeman from 1922 to 1947, rising to the rank of sergeant. Having taught himself to read and write, he was subsequently active in encouraging formation of small businesses and cooperatives, founding the Angoram Cooperative Society which he chaired from 1961 until 1967, and remaining active in trading until his death in 1972. In all he had four wives and six children, of whom Michael was the eldest.

Born in Rabaul where his father was then stationed, Michael Somare grew up in his family village of Karau in the Murik Lakes district of East Sepik Province. His earliest education was in a Japanese-run primary school at Karau during World War II where he learned to read, write and count in Japanese. Meanwhile his father was in hiding and fear of his life from the Japanese in Rabaul, but Somare remembers the Japanese with affection. Two of his earliest overseas trips, first as a parliamentarian and then as Prime Minister, were to Japan.

From 1946 he attended Boram Primary School, then Dregerhafen Education Center and Sogeri High School, graduating with a Leaving Certificate issued on behalf of the Australian state of Victoria in 1957. This was a teaching qualification at the time, and Somare then taught at several primary and secondary schools, returning to Sogeri High School for further training from 1962 to 1963.

Papua New Guinea

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Papua New Guinea

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[edit] Political life and the beginning of the PNG Independence movement

Transferring within the Public Service, Somare became a radio broadcaster based in Wewak in the East Sepik Province. He received further training at the Administrative College at Waigani in 1965. Following numerous conflicts with his superiors concerning his outspoken political comments, he was transferred from broadcasting to administrative roles, and left the Public Service to contest the elections for the second House of Assembly in 1968 as a member of the Pangu Party which he had founded with other like minds in 1967.

Somare and eight other Pangu Party members were elected. They declined invitations to join the coalition government, and he became the first official opposition leader. Following the third House of Assembly elections in 1972, Somare was able to form a coalition government which included Julius Chan of the People's Progress Party, himself later a Prime Minister, as Minister for Internal Finance. Somare was Chief Minister, becoming Prime Minister when self-government was granted in 1973, and was a key figure in the preparations for subsequent independence in 1975 and the preparation and adoption of the Constitution.

Overthrown by a parliamentary vote of no confidence in 1980, he was again Prime Minister from 1982 until 1985, and won the office a third time in 2002.

Somare has always had an interest and a pride in his background and culture. Although his initiations were interrupted several times by his career, he returned to his village regularly and completed them, culminating in his appointment as sana or peacemaker, a title inherited from his father and grandfather and conferred on him by his uncle Saub in 1973. He often chose to wear melanesian rather than western dress in parliament and on similar occasions, and in many old photographs is the only political leader so attired.

Somare's political style was both fiercely nationalistic and conciliatory, following the tradition of Sana as he sees it. One of the roles of Sana is to invite enemies to a feast before any fight. Somare often appointed political enemies to posts in which they could exercise their interests and passions. In the lead-up to independence, he argued for and won citizenship and residency requirements which were both more severe than the outgoing Australian administration recommended and more moderate than most of his party wished. His economics have aimed for betterment of the people rather than simple economic growth.

In his autobiography Sana (1975), Somare describes many fascinating incidents. He tells how in 1971, he was concerned that the sacred objects, the ornately carved sacred spears or kakars and the sacred flutes, were being lost, destroyed, sold or stolen. After much negotiation with the gapars or priests he arranged to have the kakars of his village photographed. The kakars were only handled by the senior gapars, and only left or 'came down' from the haus tambaran on the occasion of the gapars handing over the priestly function to another orob or generation. Somare himself was too young to be allowed to even see the kakars, but was included into the coming down ceremony as the interpreter for the photographer, who was of a suitable age to be attached to the next orob. Only after the ceremony was complete did Somare realise the enormity of the sacrifice made by the older priests to allow these photographs to be taken. Over the following days they completed the initiation of the new orob, thus denying themselves the privilege of serving as gapars ever again.

Reflecting these interests, in 1969 he was appointed chairman of the board of trustees of the Papua and New Guinea Museum.

[edit] Personal life

Somare married his wife Veronica — now always referred to as "Lady Veronica Somare" — in 1965, having courted her in traditional fashion, and then immediately left to take up his scholarship at Administrative College. They have five children, Bertha (usually called "Betha" in the national press), Sana, Arthur, Michael junior and Dulciana. Somare is head of both his own family and that of his wife, who initiated him into their title mindamot two days after his initiation as sana. He, together with the now-Governor-General Grand Chief Sir Paulias Matane, makes a point of wearing a Fijian skirt, known in Papua New Guinea as a laplap, rather than trousers.

[edit] Honours

He has received several honorary doctorates, the first being from the University of the Philippines in 1976. He was appointed a member of Her Majesty's Imperial Privy Council in 1977 (as in Australia, there is no indigenous Privy Council), and was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) by the Queen in the Birthday Honour List of 1990. In 2004 Somare received authorization from cabinet to create an authochthonous honours system for Papua New Guinea. In 2005 Princess Anne, The Princess Royal invested him as one of the first Grand Companions of the Order of Logohu (GCL) and he is now to be referred to as "Grand Chief the Right Honourable Sir Michael Somare."

[edit] Between Prime Ministerships

During the seventeen years between his second and third terms as prime minister, Grand Chief the Right Honourable Sir Michael Somare was appointed to political posts by other prime ministers. He served as foreign minister from 1988 to 1992 in the government of Rabbie Namaliu who would later become foreign minister in Somare’s government. Grand Chief the Right Honourable Sir Michael Somare later served as foreign minister for a few months in 1999 and took this position again in July 2006. He is currently the foreign minister in addition to being the prime minister.

[edit] Somare House

Grand Chief the Right Honourable Sir Michael Somare has become extremely wealthy during his years in and out of office. The sources of his enormous wealth have never been publically disclosed. An impressive office block in Waigaini, erected by the Pangu Pati and called Somare House, has passed into the ownership of the Somare family.

[edit] Shoes episode

In 2006 Grand Chief the Right Honourable Sir Michael Somare was required by immigration officers in Brisbane, Australia, to remove his shoes during a routine security check. Grand Chief Sir Michael took militant exception to what he considered a mighty humiliation and occasioned a diplomatic contretemps. The issue became moot when the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs subsequently banned him and all Papua New Guinea politicians from entry into Australia in the wake of the Julian Moti affair.

[edit] Fifty kina note

Grand Chief the Right Honourable Sir Michael Somare's face appears on the face of the PNG fifty-kina note. Normally only heads of state and deceased persons appear on banknotes and coins. It is sometimes perceived overseas as a result of this anomaly that Grand Chief Sir Michael is the King of Papua New Guinea.^[1] Sir Michael and his family have not discouraged this misapprehension. In 1996 The National and the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier reported on their front pages that Grand Chief The Right Honourable Sir Michael Somare had taken advantage of this apprehension by selling to Chinese nationals Papua New Guinea passports together with gold mining licences in Oro and East Sepik provinces.^[2] Grand Chief the Right Honourable Sir Michael Somare and his family have never tested this statement under the law of libel but there was no follow-up in either newspaper, no editorial comment and no letters to the editor were published.

Preceded by Chief Minister of Papua and New Guinea Michael Somare	Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea 1975–1980	Succeeded by Sir Julius Chan
Preceded by Sir Julius Chan	Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea 1982–1985	Succeeded by Paias Wingti
Preceded by Sir Mekere Morauta	Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea 2002 to present	Succeeded by incumbent

[edit] Awards

Over the years, Sir Michael Somare has been awarded several prestigeous honours, particularly those of the Commonwealth of Nations.

[edit] Commonwealth Honours

Country	Award or Order	Class or Position	Dates	Citation
Papua New Guinea	Papua New Guinea Independence Medal	-	1975
United Kingdom	Privy Council of the United Kingdom	Privy Councilor	1977	[1]
United Kingdom	Order of the Companions of Honour	Companion of Honour	1978	[2]
United Kingdom	Order of St. Michael and St. George	Knight Grand Cross	1991	[3]
Papua New Guinea	Papua New Guinea 30th Anniversary of Independence Medal	-	2004?
Papua New Guinea	Order of Logohu	Grand Commander	2005
Fiji	Order of Fiji	Companion	year unknown (2005?)	[4]
United Kingdom (Royal Order)	Venerable Order of Saint John	Knight of Justice	year unknown	[5]

[edit] Foreign Honours

Country	Award or Order	Class or Position	Dates	Citation
Vatican City	Order of St. Gregory the Great	Knight	1992	[6]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Prime Minister's office

Prime Ministers of Papua New Guinea
Michael Somare • Julius Chan • Michael Somare • Paias Wingti • Rabbie Namaliu • Paias Wingti • Julius Chan • Bill Skate • Mekere Morauta • Michael Somare