Patrick Joseph Manarewo Kalpuaso Crowby (6 July 1958 – 27 December 2013) was a

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

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 ...

. Crowby was born in

Port Vila Port Vila (french: Port-Vila), or simply Vila (; french: Vila; bi, Vila ), is the capital and largest city of Vanuatu. It is located on the island of Efate. Its population in the last census (2009) was 44,040, an increase of 35% on the pr ...

in 1958.Biography
on the website of the New Caledonia government He began his career as a

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

teacher in 1978. In 1987, he obtained the title of Manarewo as

customary Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...

chief. In 1991, he became a member of the National Bureau of Tourism. He would subsequently preside over the Bureau from 2007 to 2008. In 1992, he was appointed president of a sub-committee of the

Union of Moderate Parties The Union of Moderate Parties (french: Union des partis moderés) is a liberal political party in Vanuatu founded in 1981. At the last general election, held on 22 January 2016, they won 9.73% of the vote and 6 seats. It is currently headed by Is ...

, a francophone

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

; Crowby himself is a francophone. In 1997, now representing the National United Party,"Political Reviews: Melanesia in Review: Issues and Events 2005: Vanuatu"
, Anita Jowitt, ''

The Contemporary Pacific ''The Contemporary Pacific: A Journal of Island Affairs'' is an academic journal covering a wide range of disciplines with the aim of providing comprehensive coverage of contemporary developments in the entire Pacific Islands region, including Mel ...

'', vol.18, n°2, autumn 2006, pp. 430–438 he became

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Port Vila, the capital city of Vanuatu, a position he held until 2004. He subsequently remained a

city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

until 2006. Transparency International Vanuatu accused him of "mismanagement and corruption" during his term. From 2004 until 2008, he served as the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

officer, and government spokesman. During that same time, he was President of Vanuatu's Broadcasting and Television Corporation, and permanent representative of Vanuatu to the ''

Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...

''. In 2008, he was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

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 ...

, and was appointed Minister for Internal Affairs in Prime Minister Edward Natapei's Cabinet, though he was subsequently dismissed during a Cabinet reshuffle. He returned to government in April 2011, when Prime Minister Sato Kilman (who had ousted Natapei in a

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 ...

in December 2010) was in turn ousted in a vote of no confidence, and succeeded by

Serge Vohor Rialuth Serge Vohor (born 23 April 1955) is a Vanuatuan politician. He hails from the largest island of Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo, from Port Olry. He was a member of the Union of Moderate Parties, a centrist political party, until 2022. When his ...

. Vohor appointed Crowby Minister for Internal Affairs. Three weeks later, however, Vohor's election and premiership were voided by the Court of Appeal, and Crowby lost his position in government. On 16 June, Kilman's election and premiership were themselves voided by the Supreme Court, on constitutional grounds, and previous Prime Minister Edward Natapei became caretaker Prime Minister until a new leader could be elected. Crowby was restored as caretaker Minister of the Interior. On 26 June 2011, Sato Kilman was elected Prime Minister by Parliament, and Crowby lost his position in government. Crowby later sat as a government backbencher, until 20 March 2013 when he was one of eight MPs to

cross the floor In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). ...

and bring down the Kilman government. New Prime Minister

Moana Carcasses Kalosil Moana Carcasses Kalosil (born 27 January 1963) is a Vanuatuan politician. He was Prime Minister of Vanuatu from March 2013 to May 2014. He was the first naturalized citizen of Vanuatu to become the country's prime minister. Carcasses was ouste ...

appointed him to the position of Minister for the Interior three days later."Nation's interest first: Carcasses"
, ''Vanuatu Daily Post'', 26 March 2013.

Death

He died, aged 55, in New Caledonia on 27 December 2013, several days after having been rushed to hospital there as an unspecified emergency."Décès à Nouméa d’une figure francophone de la politique vanuatuane"
''Tahiti Infos'', 27 December 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowby, Patrick 1958 births 2013 deaths Members of the Parliament of Vanuatu Union of Moderate Parties politicians National United Party (Vanuatu) politicians People from Port Vila Interior ministers of Vanuatu Mayors of places in Vanuatu