Bartholomew "Bart" Philemon (born 16 April 1945, in a Butibam village near
Lae
Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...
, Ministry for Finance (
Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...
)) 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 ...
n politician.
He was educated in a
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
missionary primary school in Lae."PNG elections: Meet the candidates" ''The Interpreter'', 3 July 2012 He received a grant from the Lutheran Church to attend St. Peter's Lutheran College in Brisbane Queensland. After a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree at the
University of Papua New Guinea
The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...
, he worked in the aviation industry, holding the position of assistant general manager of
Air Niugini
Air Niugini Limited is the national airline of Papua New Guinea, based in Air Niugini House on the property of Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby. It operates a domestic network from Port Moresby to 12 major airports while its subsidia ...
(the country's national airline) from 1973 to 1980. From 1982 to 1986, he served as chairman of the National Airlines Commission. He also worked as "a businessman in the poultry and fruit industries". He chaired the South Pacific Festival of Arts in 1980, and the South Pacific Games Foundation for the 1991 South Pacific Games, held in
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...
.
He first entered politics in his native
Morobe Province
Morobe Province is a province on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. The provincial capital and largest city is Lae. The province covers 33,705 km2, with a population of 674,810 (2011 census), and since the division of Southern Highlands P ...
, being elected to the Morobe Provincial Assembly from 1984 to 1988. In the 1992 general election, he was elected as MP for Lae to the
National Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
, a seat he was to hold for twenty years. He served in the Shadow Cabinet, until in 1994
Julius Chan
Sir Julius Chan (born 29 August 1939) served as Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1980 to 1982 and from 1994 to 1997. He is Member of Parliament for New Ireland Province, having won the seat in the 2007 national election. He is also the c ...
ousted Prime Minister
Paias Wingti
Paias Wingti (born 2 February 1951) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He served as the third Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea between 1985 and 1988, and again from 1992 to 1994. Early life and education
Wingti hails from the Jika Tribe of the ...
through a
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 ...
in Parliament. Chan appointed Philemon as his Minister for Public Service. Philemon held his seat in the 1997 election, but was back on the Opposition front benches, the Chan government having been defeated. Two years later
Mekere Morauta
The Right Honourable Sir Mekere Morauta (12 June 1946 – 19 December 2020) was a Papua New Guinean politician and economist who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1999 to 2002. Inheriting a depressed economy and a fra ...
became Prime Minister, with Philemon as his Minister for Transport & Civil Aviation. In January 2001, Morauta made him Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Minister for Bougainville Affairs, in charge of relations with the
Autonomous Bougainville Government
The Autonomous Bougainville Government (ABG; tpi, Otonomos Bogenvil Gavman) is the government of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.
Structure
The Constitution of Bougainville specifies that the Autonomous Bougainville Gove ...
following the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
on
Bougainville Island
Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land area is ...
. In May, however, he lost his position in government during a Cabinet reshuffle. He later said Morauta had sacked him for giving unwanted advice. He returned to Cabinet following the 2002 general election, serving as
Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
under Prime Minister Sir
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 ...
. During his term as Minister for Finance, economic growth was restored, earning him "wide respect" for his economic reforms."PNG tally of women MPs rises to two and counting" ''
Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...
'', 25 July 2012 Nonetheless, he struggled to "control the profligate tendencies of other ministers", and his attempts to do so resulted in him being sacked in 2006."Papua New Guinea: Recovery in the 21st century" , ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
''
He founded his own New Generation Party and, alongside Mekere Morauta, became a leading figure of the Opposition. Somare won the 2007 general election, retaining power, and Philemon remained deputy Leader of the Opposition. In August 2011,
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 ...
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'', 8 August 2011
In the 2012 general election, Bart Philemon lost his seat in Parliament to his niece
Loujaya Toni
Loujaya Kouza (born 20 July 1966) is a Papua New Guinean politician, poet and singer. She was known under her married name of Loujaya Toni when elected, but reverted to her maiden name in 2013 after divorcing her husband.