Sir Charles Lepani, (28 October 1947 – 10 January 2025) was a Papua New Guinean public servant and diplomat. He was the country's high commissioner in Australia from 2005 to 2017 and, prior to that, had been its ambassador to both the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and several European countries.

Early life

Charles Watson Modudaya Lepani was born in the

Trobriand Islands The Trobriand Islands are a archipelago of coral atolls off the east coast of New Guinea. They are part of the nation of Papua New Guinea and are in Milne Bay Province. Most of the population of 60,000 (2016) indigenous inhabitants live on the m ...

in the

Milne Bay Province Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,345 km2 of land and 252,990 km2 of sea, within the province there are more than 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited. The province has ...

of Papua New Guinea (PNG). His father, Lepani Kaluweikalu Watson, had worked for the Australian colonial administration and became premier of Milne Bay Province in 1983. Lepani attended high school in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and in 1967 went to the

University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...

(UPNG), one year after the university had been opened. On graduating from UPNG with a degree in economics, he worked with PNG's Public Service Association as an industrial advocate and was then asked to head the new Bureau of Industrial Organizations, which had been set up by the PNG government and the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

. He also studied industrial relations at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

, with a scholarship from the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

. There he met his first wife, Barbara, and they returned to PNG's capital,

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

in 1972, shortly before their first son was born. The couple had a second son but separated when the elder boy was six.

Career

Papua New Guinea became independent from Australia in 1975. Lepani was asked by the country's first prime minister,

Michael Somare Sir Michael Thomas Somare (9 April 1936 – 25 February 2021) was a Papua New Guinean politician. Widely called the " father of the nation" (), he was the first Prime Minister after independence. At the time of his death, Somare was also the lo ...

, to become head of the National Planning Office, a position he stayed in for almost six years. At the time he took the job, only his deputy was from Papua New Guinea; all other employees were expatriates. In this capacity he was involved in the formulation of PNG's macroeconomic policy and public-sector planning. During this time, he, together with

Mekere Morauta Sir Mekere Morauta (12 June 1946 – 19 December 2020) was a Papua New Guinean politician and economist who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 1999 to 2002. Inheriting a depressed economy and a fractious legislature, h ...

Rabbie Namaliu Sir Rabbie Langanai Namaliu (3 April 1947 – 31 March 2023) was a Papua New Guinean politician. He served as the fourth prime minister of Papua New Guinea from 4 July 1988 to 17 July 1992 as leader of the Pangu Party. Biography ...

and

Anthony Siaguru Sir Anthony Siaguru (4 November 1946 – 16 April 2004) was a Papua New Guinean civil servant, lawyer, international diplomat, politician, sportsman and anti-corruption campaigner. Early life and education Anthony Siaguru was born on 4 Novem ...

, who were all involved in different ministries coordinating policy development and government programmes, were known as the "

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes due to th ...

". According to Lepani, this rather pejorative name came from older Papua New Guineans, who had worked with the colonial administration and resented the authority of the younger men. In 1991, Lepani was appointed ambassador to the European Union, serving in that position until 1994. His responsibilities also made him ambassador in Belgium, Netherlands, Greece and Italy, as well as several UN agencies based in Europe. Returning to PNG, he became managing director of the Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC), a company wholly owned by the PNG government. Some of the state's mining and petroleum assets were partially privatized in 1996, through the creation of Orogen Minerals Limited (OML), of which MRDC held a 51% stake, and Lepani then headed OML. Lepani then studied for a master's degree in public administration from the

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

in the US, receiving a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

. He worked as an advisor and consultant to the PNG government, as well as the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

, United Nations Centre for Transnational Corporations and the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

, on a range of financial and policy issues, before being appointed in 2005 as high commissioner to Australia, based in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. He stayed in that role until 2017, becoming the

doyen A doyen or doyenne (from the French language, French word ''wikt:doyen#French, doyen'', ''doyenne'' in the feminine grammatical gender) is the senior ambassador by length of service in a particular country. In the English language, the meaning ...

of the diplomatic corps. Returning to PNG, Lepani became director-general of

APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 APEC Papua New Guinea 2018 was the year-long hosting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Papua New Guinea. It was the first time Papua New Guinea hosted the APEC meetings. Australia provided a quarter to a third of the cost ...

, in which he oversaw the meeting of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) held in Port Moresby in November 2018. In July 2020, it was announced that Lepani would become a member of the board of Geopacific Resources Ltd, a company involved in gold mining on

Woodlark Island Woodlark Island, known to its inhabitants simply as Woodlark or Muyua, is the main island of the Woodlark Islands archipelago, located in Milne Bay Province and the Solomon Sea, Papua New Guinea. Although no formal census has been conducted sinc ...

in Milne Bay Province. This mine has also caused considerable controversy because of its potential adverse impact on the environment and the fact that approval for the mine overrode traditional land rights.

Personal life and death

After his divorce from Barbara Lepani, Lepani married Katherine, a U.S. national. Among their children are the former footballers Nathaniel Lepani and Andrew Lepani. Lepani died from

intestinal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

on 10 January 2025, at the age of 77.

Awards

Lepani was made a Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(KBE) in 2017. Earlier, he had been made an Officer of the same Order (OBE) and a Commander (CBE).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lepani, Charles 1947 births 2025 deaths Papua New Guinean knights Permanent representatives of Papua New Guinea to the European Union Ambassadors of Papua New Guinea to Belgium Ambassadors of Papua New Guinea to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Papua New Guinea to Greece Ambassadors of Papua New Guinea to Italy High commissioners of Papua New Guinea to Australia University of Papua New Guinea alumni Papua New Guinean civil servants Papua New Guinean Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Harvard Kennedy School alumni