Sir John Douglas Guise (29 August 1914 – 7 February 1991) was 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 who served as the first

governor-general of Papua New Guinea The governor-general of Papua New Guinea () is the vice-regal representative of the Monarchy of Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinean monarch, currently Charles III, in Papua New Guinea. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch after their ...

after the country's independence from Australia in 1975. Prior to the independence itself, Guise was a vocal advocate for a peaceful secession from Australia. He was born in Gedulalara village, near Dogura, and was educated there at the mission school of a church in Milne Bay District. His grandfather was Reginald Guise, an English adventurer who reached Papua in the 1880s, settled as a trader and married locally. He served in the Department of Native Affairs during the 1950s, and became the president of the

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 ...

Mixed Race Association in 1958. In the 1961 elections for the Legislative Council, he was elected in the Eastern Papua constituency. In 1964 he was elected to the new

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

, and went on to serve as Speaker from 1968 to 1972. Guise served as Governor-General of Papua New Guinea for two years. He resigned as Governor-General to contest the 1977 election against

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 ...

, where he was defeated. He remained politically active and considered as a potential leader during the civil unrest after his term in office. Guise died on 7 February 1991. After his death, a sports stadium was named in his honour. He was appointed a 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 ...

(CBE) in 1972, made a Knight Commander of the order (KBE) on 6 June 1975, and appointed a Knight Grand Cross 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. ...

(GCMG) on 16 September 1975.

References

Notes Citations *

Bibliography

* Lentz, Harris M., III. ''Heads of States and Governments''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 1994. . 1914 births 1991 deaths Governors-General of Papua New Guinea Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Speakers of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Legislative Council of Papua and New Guinea Members of the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea Papua New Guinean people of English descent {{PapuaNewGuinea-bio-stub