The prime minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea () is Papua New Guinea's head of government, elected by the National Parliament and formally appointed by the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea. The prime minister serves as the head of his party, the head of the coalition government, and the chairman of the National Executive Council.
Constitutional basis The prime minister is chosen by the National Parliament and then formally appointed by the governor-general. Section 142 of the Constitution of Papua New Guinea provides for the election of a prime minister to occur at the first meeting of parliament after a general election. In the event of a vacancy in the office, the speaker of the national parliament must immediately call a meeting of parliament if it is not in session and proceed to the election of a new prime minister.
Where the parliament passes a motion of no confidence in the prime minister in accordance with section 145 of the constitution, the governor-general must dismiss the prime minister from office. The prime minister may also be removed by the governor-general if the parliament determines they are unfit for office on health grounds, or may resign voluntarily in accordance with section 146 of the constitution.
History The office of Prime Minister was preceded by the Chief Minister of Papua and New Guinea.
2011–2012 constitutional crisis
From December 2011, the office was disputed between Peter O'Neill of the People's National Congress Party and Sir Michael Somare of the National Alliance Party; the latter eventually supported O'Neill as Prime Minister on 3 August 2012, thus ending the constitutional crisis.
Department of the Prime Minister The Department of the Prime Minister has the task of providing administrative services to the restoration exercise as well as advising the Prime Minister and other government leaders. After a July 1995 cabinet reshuffle by Julius Chan, functions of the department were expanded.
Office The office of the prime minister and other key government offices were initially located in Konedobu before being relocated to Waigani shortly after independence in 1975. Since April 2024, the Prime Minister's Office has been located at the newly-constructed Melanesia Haus, located opposite the main entrance to the National Parliament House.
List of officeholders Political parties
Status
Portrait Name Term of office Political party Elected Cabinet(s) Took office Left office Time in office 1 Michael Somare 16 September 1975 11 March 1980 Pangu — Somare I 1977 2 Sir Julius Chan 11 March 1980 2 August 1982 PPP — Chan I (1) Michael Somare 2 August 1982 21 November 1985 Pangu 1982 Somare II 3 Paias Wingti 21 November 1985 4 July 1988 PDM 1987 Wingti I 4 Sir Rabbie Namaliu 4 July 1988 17 July 1992 Pangu — Namaliu (3) Paias Wingti 17 July 1992 30 August 1994 PDM 1992 Wingti II (2) Sir Julius Chan 30 August 1994 27 March 1997 PPP — Chan II 5 John Giheno 27 March 1997 2 June 1997 PPP — Giheno (2) Sir Julius Chan 2 June 1997 22 July 1997 PPP — Chan III 6 Bill Skate 22 July 1997 14 July 1999 PNC 1997 Skate 7 Sir Mekere Morauta 14 July 1999 5 August 2002 PDM — Morauta (1) Sir Michael Somare 5 August 2002 4 April 2011 NAP 2002 Somare III 2007 Somare IV —Sam Abal 13 December 2010 17 January 2011 NAP — Somare IV 4 April 2011 2 August 2011 — 8 Peter O'Neill 2 August 2011 29 May 2019 PNC — Somare IV 2012 O'Neill I 2017 O'Neill II 9 James Marape 30 May 2019 Incumbent Pangu — Caretaker — Marape I 2022 Marape II
Timeline This is a graphical timeline of the prime ministers of Papua New Guinea. They are listed in order of first assuming office.
The following chart lists prime ministers by lifespan (living prime ministers on the green line), with the years outside of their tenure in beige.
See also Monarchy of Papua New Guinea Governor-General of Papua New Guinea
Notes
References