Sir Vincent Serei Eri (12 September 1936 – 25 May 1993) was 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 who served as the fifth
governor-general of Papua New Guinea
The governor-general of Papua New Guinea () is the vice-regal representative of the Papua New Guinean monarch, currently Charles III, in Papua New Guinea. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch after their nomination by the National ...
from February 1990 to October 1991.
Life
Eri attended 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 ...
. Upon graduation, he worked as a school teacher and later became the director of education. In 1975, he was appointed Papua New Guinea's first Consul General in
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 ...
. From 1975 to 1979, he also served as High Commissioner. Together with
Ted Diro
Edward Ramu (Ted) Diro GCL CBE (born 14 December 1943) is a Papua New Guinean politician and soldier.
Diro was born in Boku village in the Rigo District of Central Province, the son of a plantation labourer. He was educated at the Boku mission ...
, he founded the
People's Action Party
The People's Action Party (abbreviation: PAP) is a major conservative centre-right political party in Singapore and is one of the three contemporary political parties represented in Parliament, alongside the opposition Workers' Party (WP) and ...
in 1986 and was elected to the
National Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
.
He succeeded
Kingsford Dibela as Governor-General of Papua New Guinea on 27 February 1990 and was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the
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, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III.
...
. Shortly after taking office, he was faced with a
constitutional crisis
In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variations to this ...
. Ted Diro, now the Deputy Prime Minister, had been found guilty of corruption. The constitution required the Governor-General to dismiss him, but he did not. This created some controversy, and there were calls for Eri himself to leave office, which he did not. Ultimately, Prime Minister
Rabbie Namaliu
Sir Rabbie Langanai Namaliu (born 3 April 1947) is a Papua New Guinea politician. He served as the fourth Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. from 4 July 1988 to 17 July 1992 as leader of the Pangu Party.
Biography
An ethnic To ...
sent a formal request to
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 ...
to replace him.
On 4 October 1991, before Namaliu's request could be acted upon, Eri resigned from office. He died at his home in Port Moresby on 25 May 1993, aged 56, leaving six children.
''The Crocodile''
He is often cited as being the first Papua New Guinean national to publish a book in English; ''The Crocodile'' (a novel), which was published in 1970. However, in 1932, the country's first Methodist Priest, , known as "Ligeremaluoga", published an autobiography that was translated as ''The Erstwhile Savage''.
''The Crocodile'' is about the colonial period. Its title refers partially to a crocodile in
Moveave and partially to the assistant district officer, Jim Green, who received the main character, Hoiri, together with other
Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels
Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels was the name given by Australian Army, Australian soldiers to Papua New Guinean people, Papua New Guinean war carriers who, during World War II, were recruited or forced into service to bring supplies up to the front and carry ...
in
Lae
Lae () is the capital of Morobe Province and is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located near the delta of the Markham River and at the start of the Highlands Highway, which is the main land transport corridor between the Highl ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was compulsory reading in secondary schools during the 1970s and 80s. In 2011, the Crocodile Prize was established as an annual literary award.
See also
*
Culture of Papua New Guinea
References
* Lentz, Harris M., III. ''Heads of States and Governments''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 1994. .
Vincent Serei Eri, 57, Leader in Papua Land
External links
The Crocodile Prizehome page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eri, Vincent
1936 births
1993 deaths
Governors-General of Papua New Guinea
Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinean novelists
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
People from Gulf Province
University of Papua New Guinea alumni
20th-century novelists