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

Biography

An ethnic Tolai, Sir Rabbie comes from East New Britain. 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 insti ...

in Victoria,

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

. 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 frac ...

, Anthony Siaguru and Charles Lepani who led the formation of public administration and public policy in PNG's immediate post-independence years. They were often called " Gang of Four". 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, 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 Michael Somare. 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 (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth ...

". Namaliu married the civil servant, Margaret Nakikus, 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. 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