John Momis
| John Momis | |
|---|---|
| 4th President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 10 January 2010[1] | |
| Vice President | Patrick Nisira[1] |
| Preceded by | James Tanis |
| Governor of Bougainville | |
| In office 9 December 1999 – 20 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Gerard Sinato (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Salamaua, Territory of New Guinea |
| Political party | New Bougainville Party |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Momis |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
John Momis is the President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville. Momis was sworn in as President of Bougainville on June 10, 2010,[1] after defeating his predecessor, President James Tanis, and five other challengers by a landslide in the 2010 presidential election.[2]
Momis, who served as a Catholic priest from 1970 until 1993[3] and co-writer of the Constitution of Papua New Guinea, held posts as the Governor of Bougainville from 1999 until 2005 and was Papua New Guinea's ambassador to the People's Republic of China.[4]
Biography
Early life
John Momis was born in Salamaua, Morobe Province, in the colonial Territory of New Guinea.[5] Some sources list Momis birth year as 1942.[5] However, most media sources cite Momis' age as 71-years old at the time of his election as President of Bougainville in June 2010,[3] which would place his birth year at approximately 1938 or 1939.
Momis attended Buin Primary School in Bougainville and St. Brendan's College, located in Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia.[5] In 1963, Momis entered Holy Spirit Seminary, a Roman Catholic seminary in Madang. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1970.[5] He remained a Catholic priest until 1993, when he was granted an official dispensation to leave the priesthood.[5] Momis married his wife, Elizabeth Momis, and remains a devout Roman Catholic to the present-day.[3]
Momis is considered to be a native of South Bougainville,[6] presently the most unstable part of the island.
Political career
In 1972, Momis was elected as a member of North Solomons, as Bougainville was known at the time, to colonial Papua New Guinea's first representative assemebly, the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea.[5] Momis chaired the constitutional committee, which wrote and drafted Papua New Guinea's national constitution, from 1972 until 1975.[5]
Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia in 1975. Shortly before independence, Momis resigned his seat in the PNG parliament to establish a secessionist organization in North Solomons (Bougainville).[5] However, Momis quickly returned to national Papuan politics after North Solomons was established as a province with a provincial government within Papua New Guinea.[5]
In 1977, Momis was re-elected to the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea as a member from North Solomons.[5] He soon co-founded the new Melanesian Alliance Party with John Kaputin.[5]
Momis initially supported Prime Minister Michael Somare's first coalition government (1975-1980) and was appointed Minister for Decentralization in Somare's government.[5] He remained PNG's Minister for Decentralization until 1982, including two years in the government of Prime Minister Julius Chan. In March 1980, Momis had joined with other members of parliament from North Solomons (Bougainville) to support a successful vote of no confidence in Michael Somare.[5] Chan became Prime Minister after Somare's ouster.[5]
Prime Minister Michael Somare returned to power for a second time in March 1985.[5] Somare appointed Momis as both Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Service.[5]
Momis held a number of positions in the Papua New Guinean parliament over the next decade, including Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 1985 until 1987 and again from 1987 to 1988; Minister for Provincial Affairs from 1988 until 1992 in the government of Prime Minister Rabbie Namaliu; Shadow Minister for Bougainville Affairs in 1992; Shadow Minister for Provincial Affairs in 1993; Deputy Leader of the Opposition in 1994; and Minister of Information and Communication in 1994.[5]
Bougainville
Momis served as the Governor of Bougainville from December 9, 1999 until April 20, 2005. He resigned as governor in 2005 to contest Bougainville's first presidential election that year.[3] He ultimately lost the election to Bougainville's first president, Joseph Kabui.[3]
President of Bougainville
In 2010, Momis resigned his post as Papua New Guinea's ambassador to the People's Republic of China to contest the 2010 presidential election. He was also chosen as the leader of the New Bougainville Party in January 2010.[7]
Momis contested the election against incumbent President James Tanis and five other challengers. Voting for the election began on May 7, 2010, and ended May 24, 2010.[8]
On Tuesday, June 8, 2010, at 2:30 p.m. John Momis was declared the winner and president-elect of Bougainville in a landslide victory over President James Tanis and the other presidential candidates.[9] Momis won 43,047 votes, or 52.35% of the total popular votes cast in the election.[9] His closest challenger, incumbent President James Tanis, received estimated 17,205 votes.[9] Momis won the popular vote in both South Bougainville and Tanis' home region of Central Bougainville.[10]
Momis was sworn into office for a 5-year term as President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville on June 10, 2010, at the Parliament house.[1] The oath of office was administered by Peter Toliken, Bougainville’s Chief Magistrate.[1] On the day of his inauguration, Momis appointed Patrick Nisira as Vice President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville.[1]
Momis stated that his first priorities office will be to fight political corruption and the disposal of the large number of weapons and unexploded ordnance leftover from Bougainville's war.[3] Analysts view Momis as more in favor of continued autonomy and continued integration with Papua New Guinea,[10] while Momis' predecessor, James Tanis, supported full independence.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Laukai, Aloysius (2008-06-11). "Momis sworn in, Caretaker announced". New Dawn FM 95.3. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
- ↑ "Momis confirmed as new President of Bougainville". Radio New Zealand International. 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Calick, Rowan (2010-06-18). "71-year old wins key PNG role". The Australian. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ↑ Gridneff, Ilya (2010-06-09). "Bougainville elects president". Australian Associated Press (Sydney Morning Herald). Retrieved 2010-06-20.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 "John Momis biography". The Pacific Islands: an encyclopedia. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ↑ Kenneth, Gorethy (2008-04-12). "Seven Candidates Vie for Bougainville President". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier (East West Center). Retrieved 2010-06-13.
- ↑ "Momis seeks Bougainville top job". Radio New Zealand International. 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ↑ "Forum Observer Mission to Bougainville Central Elections". Solomon Times. 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "New Bougainville President says autonomous region must sustain own living". Islands Business. 2008-06-00. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Bougainville's new president, Halfway to freedom". The Economist. 2010-06-10. Archived from the original on 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2010-06-15.
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