Moi Avei KBE (born 24 October 1946) 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 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 ...

from 1992 to 2007, representing the Kairuku-Hiri electorate. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 2004 to 2006 under

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 ...

. Avei was born in Boera village in Kairuku-Hiri District, and was educated at

Ipswich Grammar School , motto_translation = Work and Honour , address = Darling Street , city = Ipswich , state = Queensland , postcode = 4305 , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent, single-sex, day & boa ...

and the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

in Australia, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work. He was variously PNG's Director of Child Welfare, a political advisor (at various times to Michael Somare, Akoka Doi, and the opposition as a whole), a businessman and a consultant before entering politics. Aside from his stint as Deputy Prime Minister, Avei also served in a number of ministerial portfolios, including Higher Education, Science and Technology, National Planning, Bougainville Affairs and Petroleum and Energy. In 2006 he was suspended over misconduct allegations. He later went on to a business career, serving in a number of capacities including Chairman of

Ok Tedi Mining Limited Ok Tedi Mining Limited is a Papua New Guinean company that administers the Ok Tedi Mine in the northern part of the Western Province. Its main office is located in Tabubil and the building is known as the White House. Its chairman, since 2014, h ...

(since 2014) and director of

Bougainville Copper Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is a mining company of Papua New Guinea (PNG) that is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). BCL operated the copper, gold and silver mine at the Panguna mine on Bougainville Island in PNG from 1971 ...

(since 2016). Avei was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the

2002 New Year Honours New Years' Honours are announced on or around the date of the New Year in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supplements to the London Ga ...

References

Deputy Prime Ministers of Papua New Guinea Government ministers of Papua New Guinea Living people 1946 births People from Central Province (Papua New Guinea) {{PapuaNewGuinea-politician-stub