Sir Rabbie Langanai Namaliu (born 3 April 1947) 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. He served as the fourth

Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea The prime minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Prai Minista bilong Papua Niugini) is Papua New Guinea's head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the National P ...

. from 4 July 1988 to 17 July 1992 as leader of the

Pangu Party The Pangu Pati, also known as the Pangu Party or Papua and Niugini Union Pati, is a political party in Papua New Guinea. As of September 2019, the party had 23 of 111 seats in the National Parliament. History The party was founded in June 1967 ...

Biography

An ethnic Tolai, Sir Rabbie comes from

East New Britain East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital of Rabaul, which was largely des ...

. He was educated in Papua New Guinea and in Canada, at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary instit ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Prior to his political career he was an academic in the field of political science 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 ...

. After Papua New Guinea's independence in 1975, Namaliu was one of four leading civil servants, together 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 ...

Anthony Siaguru Sir Anthony Siaguru (4 November 1946 – 16 April 2004) was a Papua New Guinean civil servant, lawyer, international diplomat, politician, sportsman and anti-corruption campaigner. Early life and education Anthony Siaguru was born on 4 Novemb ...

and

Charles Lepani Sir Charles Lepani (born ???) is a former public servant and diplomat from Papua New Guinea. He was the country's high commissioner in Australia from 2005 to 2017 and, prior to that, had been its ambassador to both the European Union and sever ...

who led the formation of public administration and public policy in PNG's immediate post-independence years. They were often called "

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

". Before becoming prime minister, he served as foreign minister for the first time, from 1982 to 1984, by this time beginning his long alliance with

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 ...

, who was prime minister at that time and served as foreign minister while Namaliu was prime minister. He was appointed foreign minister in 2002, as part of the National Alliance Party government of

. He served as foreign minister until 12 July 2006 when he became finance minister during a cabinet reshuffle. Sir Rabbie subsequently lost his seat of Kokopo Open at the 2007 Election but has not ruled out a future return to politics. He lost his cabinet post when the new government, again led by Somare, took office in August 2007. As a former prime minister of Papua New Guinea, he is a member of the

Imperial Privy Council The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

since 1989 and is styled "

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...

". Namaliu married the civil servant,

Margaret Nakikus Margaret Nakikus (died 1992) was the first Papua New Guinean woman to head that country's National Planning Office. She is also known as the wife of Rabbie Namaliu, who was Papua New Guinea's prime minister between 1988 and 1992. Early life Mar ...

, in 1987. She headed the country's National Planning Office. They had two sons, Isaac and Langanai (Rabbie Jnr.), and an adopted daughter, Joy. After his defeat in parliament in 1992 he left politics to be with Nakikus, who had incurable

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

and was in hospital in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. She died in 1992.

References

1947 births Living people Foreign Ministers of Papua New Guinea Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Prime Ministers of Papua New Guinea Speakers of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Grand Companions of the Order of Logohu People from East New Britain Province Pangu Party politicians University of Papua New Guinea alumni University of Victoria alumni University of Papua New Guinea faculty 20th-century Papua New Guinean politicians {{PapuaNewGuinea-politician-stub