political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
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 ...
.
It was established in 2006 by former Treasurer
Bart Philemon Bartholomew "Bart" Philemon (born 16 April 1945, in a Butibam village near Lae, Ministry for Finance (Wayback Machine)) is a Papua New Guinean politician.
He was educated in a Lutheran missionary primary school in Lae.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 ...
, and allied with
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 ...
's
Papua New Guinea Party
The Papua New Guinea Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 2007 by former Prime Minister and Leader of the People's Democratic Movement, Mekere Morauta, along with MP Wake Goi.
The party won 8 out of 109 seats in the ...
. It won four seats at the 2007 election, with Philemon becoming deputy opposition leader under Morauta.
The party passed into government when
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 ...
ousted Somare in August 2011, and O'Neill appointed Philemon as Minister for Public Service in the new government. During the campaign for the 2012 election, Philemon argued that former Prime Ministers
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
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 ...
should retire to allow for younger leadership. The election saw the party return three MPs: Dr
William Tongamp
Dr. William Tongamp (born 23 November 1973) is a member of parliament in Papua New Guinea. He won the governor seat of Papua New Guinea's Jiwaka Province in 2012 General Elections. Prior to that he was an Association Professor and Postdoctoral res ...
(Jiwaka Provincial),
Bire Kimisopa Bire Kimisopa (born 22 December 1962) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He was a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2002 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2017, both times representing the seat of Goroka Open. He was Minister for In ...
(Goroka Open) and
Ronny Knight
Ronny Knight is a politician from Papua New Guinea. He served as a Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea from 2012 to 2017 as a member of the New Generation Party and later the National Party, representing the electorate of Ma ...
(Manus Open), but saw Philemon lose his seat to
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.