Somare, << soh MAH ray >>, Sir Michael (1936-2021), was Papua New Guinea’s first prime minister. He held the post from 1975, when the country achieved independence from Australia, to 1980 and from 1982 to 1985. He became prime minister again in 2002 and was reelected in 2007. In 2011, Somare traveled abroad to undergo heart surgery and was absent from Parliament for several months. Parliament declared the office of prime minister vacant due to his absence and elected Treasurer Peter O’Neill to replace him. Somare returned to Papua New Guinea later that year and argued that he still held office. For nearly a year, Somare and O’Neill fought for the prime ministership. Following a June 2012 parliamentary election in which O’Neill’s party saw significant gains, Somare agreed to back O’Neill as prime minister. O’Neill was formally sworn in as prime minister in August 2012.
Somare led the National Alliance Party, which he founded in the late 1990’s. He supported economic growth while at the same time encouraging the preservation of traditional culture. Somare became known as a consensus politician—that is, he sought to resolve political conflicts through compromise and by forging alliances.
Michael Thomas Somare was born on April 9, 1936, near Rabaul, on the island of New Britain. He grew up in the village of Karau, in the East Sepik Province of New Guinea. During World War II (1939-1945), Somare attended a local Japanese-run primary school. He later worked as a teacher and a radio broadcaster.
Somare served in Papua New Guinea’s legislature, the National Parliament, from 1968 to 2017. He helped found the Pangu Pati (Papua New Guinea United Party) in the 1960’s and remained a member until 1993. From 1972 to 1975, Somare was chief minister of the Australian Territory of Papua and New Guinea. A nationalist, he helped shape a unified nation from the territory’s numerous language groups. In 1973, Somare inherited the traditional title sana, meaning peacemaker, from his uncle. In 1977, he became a member of the Privy Council, an honorary council appointed by the British monarch. Queen Elizabeth II knighted Somare in 1990. In 2005, he was named Grand Companion of the Order of the Logohu, the highest Indigenous (native) title of honor in Papua New Guinea. Somare died on Feb. 26, 2021.
