Mekere Morauta
The Right Honourable Sir Mekere Morauta (b. 1946–) is a
Papua New Guinean political figure. He served as the
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea between 1999 and 2002. He is currently the sitting member for Port Moresby North-West in the
National Parliament of Papua New Guinea, and the
Chairman of the National Capital District Commission.
Sir Mekere was born in 1946 in Kukipi, a coastal village east of Kerema in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea. Educated at local primary schools and at Kerema High and Sogeri National High, he went on to study at the
University of Papua New Guinea, where he obtained a Bachelor of Economics in 1970, and as an exchange student at
Flinders University in
South Australia.
After graduating from university he built a distinguished career as an economist in both the public and private sectors. In 1975 he was the first Papua New Guinean to be appointed Secretary of the Department of Finance, a position which he held until 1982. Other positions he has held include Managing Director of the Papua New Guinea Banking Corporation (1983–1992) and Governor of the Reserve Bank of Papua New Guinea (1992–1996).
Sir Mekere was a member of the so-called "Gang of Four", a group of influential young civil service chiefs who played the leading role in holding together public administration and public policy in the formative decade or so after Papua New Guinea's independence in 1975. (The other members of the group were
Charles Lepani,
Sir Rabbie Namaliu and
Sir Anthony Siaguru. Namaliu also later went on to become Prime Minister.) He entered the National Parliament in July 1997 as the member for Port Moresby North-West.
Sir Mekere is married to Lady Roslyn Morauta, and has two sons from a previous marriage.
*
Time Magazine article: "Man for a Hard Season" (1999)
