AN era came to an end on April 4 when Papua New Guinea’s ‘father of the nation’ and one of the longest serving parliamentarians in the Pacific and the Commonwealth, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare took up his seat in Parliament for one last time to bid farewell. Exactly 49 years earlier, a younger Michael Somare walked into the House of Assembly in the Territory of Papua and New Guinea as a politician for the first time on April 4, 1968.
Sir Michael was retiring and his last sitting was also the conclusion of PNG’s ninth parliament before it adjourned for the general elections in late June. The former prime minister was given a standing ovation as he gave his farewell speech to parliament. Sir Michael, who served this last fiveyear parliament term as East Sepik Governor after his ousting as prime minister in 2011, said it had been a privilege to have served the people of Papua New Guinea.
“I practise national unity and I am proud to be called the father of the nation,” said the man known in PNG as the ‘Grand Chief’. Highly respected throughout the Pacific Islands region, Sir Michael was instrumental in ushering PNG to independence from Australia in 1975, upon which he served as the country’s first prime minister. It’s hard to borrow money when the interests are high, but if you do need the cash click here .
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