Ron Ganinbo Ganarafo (born 20 April 1955) 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 1997 to 2002 and from 2012 to 2017, both times representing the electorate of Daulo Open. He was Vice-Minister for Finance (1997) and Vice-Minister for Overseas Development Assistance (1997–1998) in the

Skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

government and Minister for Fisheries (1999–2002) in the Morauta government.

Education and business career

Ganarafo was educated at Omboran Primary School, Amaiyufa Primary School, and Goroka High School before studying a Bachelor of Economics 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 ...

, graduating in 1977. He was the chief executive officer of Coffee Industry Corporation Limited, the Papua New Guinean coffee industry regulator and advocate, from 1988 to 1997.

First term (1997–2002)

He was first elected to the National Parliament at the 1997 election, representing 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 ...

, although he would later switch to the

People's Democratic Movement The People's Democratic Movement is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded by Paias Wingti in 1985, after his faction left the Pangu Party. Wingti served as prime minister from 1985 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1994. He was later repla ...

Bill Skate Sir William Jack Skate (26 September 1953 – 3 January 2006) was a prominent Papua New Guinea politician. He was the son of an Australian father and a Papua New Guinean mother. Though his career was turbulent and often marked by setbacks, he s ...

, the new Prime Minister, appointed Ganarafo Vice-Minister for Finance from July to December 1997, when he was shifted to Vice-Minister for Overseas Development Assistance. The National Court quashed his election on 7 May 1998 and declared him to have not been duly elected due to an incident where an electoral officer was alleged to have illegally used an unauthorised list provided by Ganarafo's campaign coordinator. The National Court ordered a by-election, but Ganarafo successfully appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled on 5 October 1998 that there had been no illegality and reinstated him. Ganarafo was promoted to the ministry as Minister for Fisheries in July 1999, following

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 ascension to Prime Minister. As minister, he signed a fishing agreement with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, renewed a previously suspended agreement with

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, restated Papua New Guinea's opposition to Japanese whaling, and brought Papua New Guinea into the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. He lost his seat to Ben Kiagi at the 2002 election.

Second term (2012–present)

Ganarafo won back his old seat as an independent 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: ...

, having reportedly been a fruit and vegetable farmer in his years out of office. In November 2012, he called for restrictions on the importing of fresh vegetables, calling the importing of subsidised vegetables from Australia and New Zealand a "disturbing trend". Ganarafo was defeated by Pogio Ghate at the 2017 election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ganarafo, Ron 1955 births Living people Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Pangu Party politicians People's Democratic Movement politicians People's National Congress (Papua New Guinea) politicians