Jeffery Nape (1964 – 8 July 2016) was, until the 2012 election, speaker of the
National Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and twice officially and once unofficially acting
governor-general of Papua New Guinea
The governor-general of Papua New Guinea () is the representative of the Papua New Guinean monarch, currently King Charles III, in Papua New Guinea. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch after their nomination by the National Parliam ...
. He was elected speaker by the members of the parliament on 28 May 2004, and then immediately became acting governor-general because that office was substantively vacant. He succeeded
Bill Skate
Sir William Jack Skate (26 September 1953 – 3 January 2006) was a prominent Papua New Guinea politician. He was the son of an Australian father and a Papua New Guinean mother. Though his career was turbulent and often marked by setbacks, he ...
in both roles.
He ceased acting as governor-general on 29 June 2004, when Paulias Matane was sworn in. When Matane stepped down in 2010, Nape regained this post.
Following the 2007 general election, Nape was re-elected as Speaker on 13 August 2007, defeating the opposition's candidate for the position,
Bart Philemon Bartholomew "Bart" Philemon (born 16 April 1945, in a Butibam village near Lae, Ministry for Finance (Wayback Machine)) is a Papua New Guinean politician.
He was educated in a Lutheranism, Lutheran missionary primary school in Lae.Paulias Matane on the same day.
He was appointed
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...
(CMG) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.
in September 2011, Nape "dropped a bombshell" with his highly controversial decision to disqualify recently ousted
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
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 ...
, known as the "Grand Chief" and the "
father of the nation
The Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a person considered the driving force behind the establishment of a country, state, or nation. Pater Patriae was a Roman honorific meaning the "Father of the Fatherland", bestowed by th ...
", from Parliament. Nape ruled that Somare had missed three consecutive parliamentary sessions, due to being in hospital for surgery followed by a lengthy recovery. When he entered Parliament in a wheelchair, Nape "welcomed him warmly", but later declared that he was disqualifying him. Somare denied that he had missed three sessions.
In December 2011, a
constitutional crisis
In political science, a constitutional crisis is a problem or conflict in the function of a government that the constitution, political constitution or other fundamental governing law is perceived to be unable to resolve. There are several variat ...
broke out when the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
declared Sir Michael Somare to be the legitimate Prime Minister but Prime Minister
Peter O'Neill
Peter Charles Paire O'Neill (born 13 February 1965) is a Papua New Guinean politician who served as the seventh Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea from 2011 to 2019. He has been a Member of Parliament for Ialibu-Pangia since 2002. He was a fo ...
, who had the support of a parliamentary majority, refused to step down. Governor-General Sir
Michael Ogio
Sir Michael Ogio (7 July 1942 – 18 February 2017) was a Papua New Guinean politician who led People's Democratic Movement party. He served as the ninth governor-general of Papua New Guinea.
Biography
He became acting governor-general on 20 ...
, following the court order, recognised Somare as Prime Minister. Parliament responded, on 14 December, by "suspending" Ogio and declaring Nape, as Speaker, automatically the acting Governor-General. The
Queen of Papua New Guinea
The monarchy of Papua New Guinea is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Papua New Guinea. The current Papua New Guinean monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles II ...
,
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
, who appoints parliament's chosen candidate for governor-general, did not revoke Ogio's commission. On 19 December, Ogio was again recognized by Parliament as governor-general and O'Neill as Prime Minister.
In January 2012, Nape joined
Don Polye
Don Pomb Polye (born 1 February 1967) is a Papua New Guinean politician from Enga Province. He has been a Cabinet Minister under two Prime Ministers, and was briefly Deputy Prime Minister from July to December 2010. He has held Foreign Affairs, ...
's new
Triumph Heritage Empowerment Rural Party
The Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party ("T.H.E. Party") is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded in 2012 by Don Polye, Minister of Finance at the time.
As of May 2019, the party has 1 member in the National Parliament.
Background ...
. He lost his seat at the 2012 election. He died of organ failure on 8 July 2016 in Port Moresby.
Corruption charges
In May 2012, the government's corruption watchdog,
Investigation Task Force Sweep
Investigation Task Force Sweep was established in Papua New Guinea (PNG) on 12 August 2011, following a resolution by the National Executive Council (NEC). The initiative was spearheaded by Prime Minister Peter O'Neill as part of his well-publicise ...
, drew up a warrant for Nape's arrest in relation to the alleged misappropriation of $2.4 million in development funds, charges which Nape has denied.
Nape was arrested on bribery charges in July 2012 for attempting to bribe a rival candidate to drop out of the running of the 2012 general election. The candidate, who was competing for Nape's Sinasina-Yongumugi seat, alleged that Nape offered him money to drop out of the election. Nape, who has denied all the charges, was released on bail and was due to appear in court after the elections.