Sir Puka Temu, (born 7 January 1954), 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 ...

. 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 2002, representing the electorate of Abau Open. A former Deputy Prime Minister 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 ...

, he is part of Prime Minister James Marape’s government as a member of the

Our Development Party The Our Development Party is a political party in Papua New Guinea. The party was co-founded in 2011, after the O'Neill Government ousted the Somare Government, by Sir Puka Temu and Andy Kenemu. At the time, it had 25 members in the National Pa ...

Early life

Temu attended Konepoti Primary School and Iarowari High School. He graduated from the University of Papua New Guinea in 1976 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery. He completed a Masters in Medicine in Sydney and Melbourne in 1985. He served in the public service for 29 years, including as Secretary for the Department of Health from 1996 to 2001.

Political career

Temu was first elected to Parliament in the 2002 elections for the seat of Abau Open, representing the National Alliance Party. He was appointed as Minister for National Planning and Monitoring, Provincial Affairs, Works and Transport in a caretaking capacity following Prime Minister Michael Somare’s election. He then became Minister for Public Service on 13 August 2002 and Leader of Government Business on 27 August 2002. Temu was disqualified from Parliament on 5 March 2003 by the Court of Disputed Returns due to two campaign donations which the court said was an attempt to bribe voters. He was re-elected in a by-election on 16 December 2003, which was the first election in the country to use the new limited preferential voting (LPV) system. He was sworn in to Parliament again on 13 January 2004. On 15 January, he was sworn in as Minister for State Enterprises and Information, a post he held until 20 December 2004. He remained in Cabinet without a ministry until 7 January 2005 when he was appointed as Minister for Lands and Physical Planning and Minister for State. In June 2006 he relinquished duties as Minister for State. He was re-elected at the 2007 election, after which he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Lands and Physical Planning and Minister for Mining on 29 August 2007 under Prime Minister Michael Somare."Temu Is PNG's New Deputy Prime Minister"
, ''Pacific Magazine'', 30 August 2007 In July 2010, he spearheaded an attempt to overthrow Somare through a parliamentary

vote 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 ...

. When the motion failed, he became Leader of the Opposition, and was replaced as Deputy Prime Minister by

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, I ...

. 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 ...

became Prime Minister in the wake of 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 m ...

in the government of Acting Prime Minister

Sam Abal Samuel Tei Abal (born 26 June 1958) is a Papua New Guinean politician. Abal, who previously served as Foreign Minister from August 2007 to December 2010, became the Deputy Prime Minister of the country in a cabinet reshuffle by Michael Somare o ...

. O'Neill appointed Sir Puka as his Minister for Agriculture and Livestock on 5 August 2011. He was re-elected at the

2012 election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: ...

as a member of the Our Development Party. Following the election he joined People’s National Congress, reportedly to enable O'Neill to form government. He was then appointed as Minister for Transport. He was then appointed Minister for Public Service and then Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS. In May 2019 Temu returned to the Our Development Party. He became Minister for Bougainville Affairs in June 2019 and oversaw the 2019 Bougainvillean Independence Referendum. At the 2022 election he was re-elected to Parliament and was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Special Parliament Commitee on the 2022 General Election by Prime Minister James Marape.

Personal life

Dr. Temu is a medical doctor. He is a United Church Christian. He received a

Companion 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, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

and was made an Honorary Fellow of the Australian College of Health Services Executives in 2000. Temu was 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 o ...

(KBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.

References

External links

Deputy Prime Minister Puka Temu's address to the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly
27 September 2008 Papua New Guinean physicians Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Government ministers of Papua New Guinea National Alliance Party (Papua New Guinea) politicians Deputy Prime Ministers of Papua New Guinea Living people 1954 births 21st-century Papua New Guinean politicians {{PapuaNewGuinea-politician-stub