Job Pomat
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Sir Job Pomat CMG (born 1960) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He has represented the electorate of Manus Open in the
National Parliament of Papua New Guinea The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea is the Unicameralism, unicameral national legislature in Papua New Guinea. It was created in 1964 as the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea but gained its current name after the nation was grante ...
on two separate occasions since 2007 and has been Speaker of the National Parliament since 2017.


Early life

Pomat grew up in the village of Rossun on the island of Manus, in what was then the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. His father Peter Pomat, village chief and missionary of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...
, ran unsuccessfully three times in the elections for the colonial legislative assembly, prior to independence in 1975. He worked as a technician for various companies before contesting the 1993 provincial election. He served as Speaker and Deputy Governor of the Manus provincial government for two terms.


Political career

Pomat was first elected to the National Parliament at the 2007 general election in the seat of Manus Open, representing People’s National Congress. He was appointed Inter-Government Relations Minister in Prime Minister Michael Somare’s Cabinet. He then served as Fisheries Minister in Peter O’Neill’s Cabinet. He lost his seat at the 2012 general election after one term to then- New Generation Party member Ronny Knight. He regained the seat at the 2017 general election and was subsequently elected as Speaker of the tenth National Parliament. As Speaker, he had totems and other artefacts reintroduced into Parliament that his predecessor Theo Zurenuoc had removed in 2013 for religious reasons. In 2018, he became the deputy leader of People’s National Congress. In 2019, the
Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...
reported that Paladin Solutions PNG, which was awarded government security contracts worth A$423 million on Manus Island, entered into an agreement in 2018 with Peren Investment, a company majority controlled by Pomat’s brothers Kepo, Allan and Polosong Pomat. Job Pomat denied any wrongdoing and that he would have indirectly benefited from the agreement. In May 2019, Pomat was criticised for refusing to allow the opposition to introduce a censure motion against Prime Minister Peter O'Neill, and then refusing to authorise a vote on his own removal as speaker. O'Neill resigned the next day, and Job Pomat presided over the election of
James Marape James Marape (born 24 April 1971) is a Papua New Guinean politician who has served as the prime minister of Papua New Guinea since May 2019. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since July 2007, representing the el ...
to the position of Prime Minister by MPs. He resigned from the People's National Congress on 22 June 2020 and became an independent to protect his neutrality as speaker and in response to allegations of fraud. In 2021, opposition leader Belden Namah filed an application to 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 ...
against Pomat which alleged that he had breached the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
in his role as Speaker. The accusations relate to Pomat’s forced adjournment of Parliament in December 2020 and passing of the 2021 national budget without debate. Pomat won his seat at the 2022 general election as a candidate for the Pangu Party and was re-elected as Speaker of the eleventh National Parliament. As of 2022, he is also the Chairman of Broadcasting of Parliamentary Proceedings, Legislation and National Parliament Committees.


Personal life

Pomat is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Pomat’s contribution and service to the community was recognised by the Queen of Papua New Guinea,
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. ...
. In November 2019, Pomat was awarded the Most Distinguished
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 III ...
by the
Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...
Bob Dadae Sir Bob Bofeng Dadae (born 8 March 1961) is a Papua New Guinean politician currently serving as the tenth governor-general of Papua New Guinea since 2017. Education and early career Dadae was educated at the Ombo Lutheran Agency in Derim and ...
.


References


External links


Video of Job Pomat's election as Speaker of Parliament
archive
/small>, EMTV, 2 August 2017 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pomat, Job 1960 births Living people Speakers of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinean Seventh-day Adventists People's National Congress (Papua New Guinea) politicians Pangu Pati politicians 21st-century Papua New Guinean politicians Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George People from Manus Province