Let’s remember great people

The National Letters

IN your early formative years, you would look up to someone as role model, people who have directly or indirectly influenced you due to their exceptional talent, ingenuity and willingness to help out when you need that direction.
This Christmas let us remember the ‘Gang of Four.’
The Gang of Four refers to a group of influential young civil service chiefs who played a leading role in holding together public administration and public policy in the formative decade or so after Papua New Guinea’s independence in 1975.
Growing up in awe of these exemplary Papua New Guineans, many of us coming up the years later were inspired by the achievement and ever-growing accolades of these brilliant individuals.
They are Sir Mekere Morauta, Sir Rabbie Namaliu, Sir Charles Lepani and Sir Anthony Siaguru.
When there was a top bureaucratic, Government or diplomatic post that came available, either one of the four would make it to the final cut.
Let’s start by first looking at Sir Mekere Morauta, an economist and political figure. Sir Mekere was born in 1946 in Kukipi, a coastal village east of Kerema in Gulf and was educated at local primary schools and at Kerema High and Sogeri National High schools.
He went on to study at the University of PNG, where he obtained a bachelor of economics in 1970.
He was also an exchange student at Flinders University in South Australia
After graduating from university, he worked as an economist in both the public and private sectors.
In 1975, he was the first Papua New Guinean to be appointed secretary of the Department of Finance, a position which he held until 1982.
Other positions he has held include managing-director of the Government’s commercial bank, the PNG Banking Corporation (1983–1992), and Governor of the Bank of PNG (1992–1993), PNG’s central bank.
Sir Mekere was also a successful businessman after he retired from governing the central bank.
From 1994 to 1997, he was executive chairman of Morauta Investments, Ltd (Delta Seafoods and Morauta and Associates).
After entering politics, he withdrew from actively managing the firm and his wife Lady Roslyn Morauta took over management of the firm.
In May 2012 he announced that, after 15 years in Parliament, he would not stand for re-election
and so left the Parliament in June 2012.
However, he became, an opposition during the O’Neill-Dion government in the period 2012–2017, a player in major controversies.
There were also calls on him to stand again. He decided to give in to major pressures and stood again successfully in Moresby North-West in 2017.
Our second hero is Sir Rabbie Namaliu. Rabbie Langanai Namaliu was born on April 3, 1947 to Darius Namaliu and Utul Loan in, Raluana, Kokopo, East New Britain.
The Tolai former prime minister is a political scientist and now a prolific business leader.
He graduated in political science at the University of PNG and obtained a Masters in Law and an honorary doctorate of law at the University of Victoria in British Colombia, Canada.
Prior to his political career, he was an academic in the field of political science at UPNG.
He was a lecturer in history at UPNG, principal private secretary to Chief Minister Sir Michael Somare in1974 and chairman Public Services Commission.
Before becoming prime minister, he served as foreign minister for the first time, from 1982 to 1984, by this time beginning his long alliance with Sir Michael Somare, who was prime minister at that time and served as foreign minister while Sir Rabbie was prime minister.
He was appointed foreign minister in 2002, as part of the National Alliance Party government of Somare.
He served as foreign minister until July 12, 2006, when he became finance minister during a cabinet reshuffle.
Sir Rabbie subsequently lost Kokopo Open seat at the 2007 election but has not ruled out a future return to politics.
He lost his cabinet post when the new government, again led by Somare, took office in August 2007.
As a former prime minister of PNG, he is a member of the Imperial Privy Council since 1989 and is styled ‘The Right Honourable’.
He is a widower and has two grown sons.
His accolades include:

  • University of PNG fellow;
  • scholar Australian National University and University of California, Santa Cruz;
  • recipient Independence medal, 1975;
  • Queen’s Silver Jubilee medal, 1977; and,
  • Named Pacific Man of the Year, 1988.

David Lepi
Port Moresby
NCD