The New Guinea Council ( nl, Nieuw-Guinea Raad) was a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...

representative body formed in the Dutch colony of Netherlands New Guinea in 1961.

History

Prior to the formation of the New Guinea Council, there existed a Council of Directors, which consisted of the heads of government departments. Dutch authorities initially began to establish local government bodies such as village councils and regional councils. The New Guinea Council was inaugurated on 5 April 1961 with 28 council members, 16 of whom had been elected in

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

held during January 1961. The council's inauguration was attended by representatives from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and other Pacific Forum nations with exception of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The council was requested to make its wishes on

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a '' jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It sta ...

known within a year. During an emergency session the council drafted a national

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

and symbols including the

Morning Star flag The Morning Star flag ( id, Bendera Bintang Kejora, nl, Morgenstervlag) was a flag used in a supplemental fashion on Netherlands New Guinea to the flag of the Netherlands. It was first raised on 1 December 1961 prior to the territory coming un ...

for a new national identity to be known as " West Papua".

Council officials

Frits Sollewijn Gelpke was Council Chairman and

Nicolaas Jouwe Nicolaas Jouwe (24 November 1923 – 16 September 2017) was a Papuan people, Papuan leader who was selected to be vice president of the New Guinea Council that governed the Netherlands, Dutch colony of Netherlands New Guinea. As the president of ...

was Vice-Chair. J. W. Trouw was the Clerk of the Council.

Council building

A council building was built in Hollandia from 1960 to 1961 and used until the abolition of the council in 1962. Currently the building houses the regional legislature of Papua, ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Papua or ''DPR Papua'').Based on building similarities between the New Guinea Council building on 1961 Netherlands New Guinea stamps () and the current old building of DPR Papua.

Gallery

Nieuwe serie postzegels t.g.v. installatie Nieuw Guinea Raad, Bestanddeelnr 934-6340.jpg, Council building in Hollandia Voorzitter en twee leden Nieuw Guinea Raad terug naar Nieuw-Guinea B Mofu , Ab, Bestanddeelnr 913-3648.jpg, Chairman J.H.F. Sollewijn Gelpke and councillors Arfan and Mofu File:Nicolaas Jouwe (1962).jpg, Vice-chair Nicolaas Jouwe

References

{{reflist * Defunct unicameral legislatures Legislatures of country subdivisions Dutch political institutions Organizations based in Netherlands New Guinea 1961 establishments in Netherlands New Guinea 1962 disestablishments in the Netherlands 1962 disestablishments in Indonesia