Rimbink Pato OBE LLB (born 4 May 1961) 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 constitutional lawyer and politician. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade from 2012 to 2019. Pato is the head of the United Party and its sole MP, representing Wapenamanda Open. Pato was awarded an Order of British Empire (OBE) by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

in recognition of services to the community and law.

Early life

Pato is from Kopya Village, Wapenamanda,

Enga Province Enga is one of the provinces in Papua New Guinea (PNG). It is located in the north most region of the highlands of PNG, having been divided from the Western Highlands to become a separate province when the provinces were created at the time of in ...

. He attended Wamapisa Primary School and Pausa Lutheran Secondary School. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from 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 ...

in 1986, and then went on to the Legal Training Institute.

Career

Prior to becoming a politician in 2012, Pato was a prominent practising lawyer in PNG, and was involved in significant cases. He was Managing Partner with Steeles Lawyers, which later re-established as Pato Lawyers, with Pato remaining as Managing Partner. From 1999 to 2001, Pato was Executive Chairman and CEO of the Finance Pacific Group of companies, which included Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation Ltd, Rural Development Bank Ltd, MMI Pacific Insurance Ltd, and Motor Vehicle Insurance Trust Limited. Pato was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in the 2012 general election, as MP for

Wapenamanda Wapenamanda Rural LLG is a local-level government (LLG) of Enga Province, Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, In ...

, representing the United Party. Despite being a first time MP, Prime Minister

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 ...

appointed him Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration. He has since played prominent roles, often as chairman, in the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

(including representing the Prime Minister at the Leaders' meeting), the

Melanesian Spearhead Group The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is an intergovernmental organization, composed of the four Melanesian states of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia. In ...

, and the

African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is a group of countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. Formerly known as African, Caribbean and Pacific Group ...

. Pato has also chaired and co-chaired high-level sessions at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. Pato has conducted many significant negotiations on behalf of Papua New Guinea, including on delicate topics such as the Manus Island refugee arrangements. He has met in bilateral and multilateral meetings, as well as on social occasions, with his counterpart Foreign Ministers and national leaders of other countries. As an envoy of O’Neill, Pato has delivered the Country Statement for Papua New Guinea on several occasions at the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

, most recently on 29 September 2018. Pato held the Immigration Portfolio from 2012 to 2017. In 2017, he was reappointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs and in addition was assigned the Trade Portfolio. He attended the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

11th ministerial conference 2017 in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

as Minister for Trade. Pato chaired the Ministerial Session of the 2018 APEC Economic Leaders Summit in

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 ...

. As part of the First Marape Cabinet, he lost his ministerial portfolio, but was appointed Special Envoy of the Prime Minister on International Affairs, a role he still holds.

Personal life

Pato is married to Joyce Pato, and they have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pato, Rimbink Living people Alumni of Glasgow Caledonian University Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Officers of the Order of the British Empire Government ministers of Papua New Guinea Foreign Ministers of Papua New Guinea 1961 births People from Enga Province

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References