Ano Pala, (born 15 September 1952) is a

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He has been a member of the

National Parliament of Papua New Guinea The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is the unicameral national legislature in Papua New Guinea. It was created in 1964 as the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea but gained its current name after the nation was granted independence ...

since 2007, representing the electorate of Rigo Open (in Central Province). He is Minister for Justice and Attorney-General in the government of

Peter O'Neill Peter Charles Paire O'Neill (born 13 February 1965) is a Papua New Guinean politician who served as the seventh Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 2011 to 2019. From 2002 until the present he served as Member of Parliament for Ialibu-Pan ...

. He was elected to the National Parliament at the 2007 election and was initially a member of the National Alliance Party. In May 2010, he was appointed Attorney General and Minister of Justice in Prime Minister

Michael Somare Sir Michael Thomas Somare (9 April 1936 – 26 February 2021) was a Papua New Guinean politician. Widely called the "father of the nation" (), he was the first Prime Minister after independence. At the time of his death, Somare was also the lo ...

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

, replacing

Allan Marat Allan S. M. Marat CBE (born 28 September 1954) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He served as Minister for Justice and Attorney General in Prime Minister Michael Somare's Cabinet from August 2007 to May 2010. In May 2010, he publicly stated that ...

who had resigned after breaching

Cabinet solidarity Cabinet collective responsibility, also known as collective ministerial responsibility, is a constitutional convention in parliamentary systems that members of the cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions made in Cabinet, even if ...

by criticising government policy. Pala had, until then, served as parliamentary secretary to Dr

Puka Temu Sir Puka Temu, (born 7 January 1954), is a Papua New Guinean politician. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since 2002, representing the electorate of Abau Open. A former Deputy Prime Minister under Michael So ...

, the Minister of Lands and Physical Planning and Mining. In July 2010, he was one of four ministers to defect to the Opposition in an unsuccessful attempt to bring down the government, but later rejoined the government ranks and was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs. At the start of August 2011, he again defected to the Opposition, and this time helped to successfully bring down the government in a parliamentary

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

became Prime Minister, and appointed Pala as his Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration. Pala had previously served as parliamentary clerk, but resigned that position to stand (successfully) for Parliament in the 2007 general election. In 2009, he publicly supported

Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe ...

Provincial Governor Malcolm 'Kela' Smith who petitioned the government to "intervene to protect our citizens of icthe action of Asian businessmen", who he claimed had "exploited locals" by selling "cheap goods and counterfeit products", and by forcing employees to work long hours for low wages. Pala added that locals should be assisted in setting up their own businesses: there was a "need to support our education system, to create some of the basics of how to make money, how to run a business and how to understand the commercial and business system in the schools". In January 2012, he joined

Don Polye Don Pomb Polye (born 1 February 1967) is a Papua New Guinean politician from Enga Province. He has been a Cabinet Minister under two Prime Ministers, and was briefly Deputy Prime Minister from July to December 2010. He has held Foreign Affairs, ...

's new

Triumph Heritage Empowerment Rural Party The Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party ("T.H.E Party") is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 2012 by Don Polye, Minister of Finance at the time. As of May 2019, the party has 1 member in the National Parliament. Background P ...

."New party launched"
, ''Post Courier'', 24 January 2012

Honours

In the

2001 New Year Honours The 2001 New Year Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British honours system, where New Year's Day, 1 January, is marked in several Commonwealth countries by appointing new members of orders of chivalry and recipient ...

, Pala was appointed to the

Imperial Service Order The Imperial Service Order was established by King Edward VII in August 1902. It was awarded on retirement to the administration and clerical staff of the Civil Service throughout the British Empire for long and meritorious service. Normally a pe ...

, for public service. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the

2007 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2007 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2007, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2007.Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and a ...

for service to the National Parliament and to sport. Pala was knighted in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

, being appointed

Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

"for services to the Community and to the Parliament of Papua New Guinea."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pala, Ano Living people Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea 1952 births Government ministers of Papua New Guinea National Alliance Party (Papua New Guinea) politicians Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party politicians Companions of the Imperial Service Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Papua New Guinean Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Foreign Ministers of Papua New Guinea