Sir Paulias Nguna Matane (21 September 1931 – 12 December 2021) was a

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

n politician who served as the eighth

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 ...

from 29 June 2004 to 13 December 2010. His

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

''My Childhood in New Guinea'' has been on the school curriculum since the 1970s. He was a long-time contributor and

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

for '' The National''.

Biography

Personal life

Matane was born on 21 September 1931 in Viviran village, Vunadidir-Toma Rural LLG,

East New Britain Province East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital of Rabaul, which was largely ...

. He was a Tolai, a native speaker of Kuanua, and a staunch United Churchman. He wrote 44 books which deliberately use extremely simple English, focusing in part on his own overseas travels, including three on the

State of Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. His writing is intended to persuade Papua New Guineans that books are a useful source of information and that they should not regard them as something only for foreigners. For many years Matane wrote a column in the Malaysian Chinese-owned newspaper ''The National'', containing advice for the younger generation. He also founded the United News Agency of Melanesia. He, together with Grand Chief the Right Honourable

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 ...

, made a point of wearing a lap-lap (skirt) rather than trousers. He was married to Lady Kaludia Matane who served her country with "great distinction" and died on 20 December 2016.

Education and early career

Matane attended Toma Village Higher (later Tauran Primary) School and then Keravat High School. Beginning in 1956 he studied at Sogeri Teachers' College and from 1963 he attended Port Moresby Teachers' College and Mendi for Inspector’s Theoretical and Practical Training. At the end of his training he worked as an inspector of schools.

Ambassador to the United States and United Nations

Matane served as the first Papua New Guinean

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the years 1975–76 following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. He was also PNG's Ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

from 1975 and in 1979 was elected as a vice-president of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

. In the mid-1980s he was Secretary of Papua New Guinea's Foreign Affairs Department and led delegations to Australia to discuss that country's foreign aid to PNG and negotiated with Indonesia regarding border incursions and refugee problems.

Governor-General

Matane was elected

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, ...

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 ...

on 27 May 2004, receiving 50 votes, while his opponent, Sir Pato Kakaraya received 46 votes. Attempts to elect a Governor-General had failed repeatedly for six months before Matane's election because of constitutional flaws in the nomination process. Following Matane's election, Kakaraya brought a petition to the Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea, seeking to invalidate the election. Matane was sworn in on 29 June 2004, although the legal challenge to his election was still ongoing. He was officially invested as Governor-General by Queen

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. ...

on 13 October 2004. He was reappointed for a second term in June 2010, under what ''The National'' called "very controversial circumstances .. in an act likely to be challenged in court". Specifically, ''The National'' reported that there was "conflicting advice from the speaker and the prime minister" regarding the proper procedure for the appointment, and that the government had Matane reappointed by "using section 87(5) of the Constitution, arguing that the absolute majority secured for Sir Paulias meant that the exhaustive secret ballot vote was not required". The Supreme Court of Papua New Guinea ruled Matane's reelection unconstitutional in December 2010.

Death

Matane died on 12 December 2021, in his native village of Viviran.

Books written by Paulias Matane

* ''Kum Tumun of Minj'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1966 (Stories of Our People). * ''What Good is Business? Here are Some Answers'', Madang: Kristen Pres 972 * ''Aimbe, the Challenger'', Port Moresy: Niugini Press, 1974. * ''Aimbe, the School Drop-out'', Rabaul: Toksave na Buk Dipatmen, United Church, New Guinea Islands Region, 1977. * ''Aimbe, the Magician'', New York: Vantage Press, 1978. * ''Aimbe, the Pastor: A Novel'', Hicksville, New York: Exposition Press, 1979. * ''Two Papua New Guineans Discover the Bible Lands'', Rabaul: Trinity Press, 1987. * ''To Serve With Love'', Mount Waverley, Victoria: Dellasta Pacific, 1992. * ''Let's Do It PNG! Inspirational Messages'', Mount Waverley, Victoria: Dellasta Pacific, 1994. * ''Trekking Through the New Worlds'', New Delhi: UBS Publishers' Distributors Ltd., 1995. * ''My Childhood in New Guinea'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1996. * ''40th Anniversary: Amazing Discoveries in 40 Years of Marriage'', Port Moresby: Sir Paulias Matane, 1996. * ''Chit-Chat'', South Melbourne: Addison Wesley Longman, 1996. * ''Pawa na pipel! People and Power in Papua New Guinea'', Woollahra, N.S.W.: Aid/Watch,

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emperor Kazan. * 2 March: Emperor ...

* ''Laughter Made in PNG'', New Delhi: UBSPD, 1997. * ''Voyage to Antarctica'', New Delhi: UBSPD, 1997. * ''The Other Side of Port Moresby in pictures'', New Delhi: UBSPD, 1998. * ''A Trip of a Lifetime'', Boroko: Sir Paulias Matane, 1998. * ''Management Problems in PNG: Some Solutions'', New Delhi: UBSPD, 2000. * ''Management for Excellence'', New Delhi: UBSPD, 2001. * ''Ripples in the South Pacific Ocean'', New Delhi: CBS Publishers & Distributors, 2003. * ''Time Traveller: A Journey Through the Heart of Papua New Guinea'', Port Moresby: Cassowary Books, 2005. * ''Papua New Guinea: Land of Natural Beauty and Cultural Diversity'', New Delhi: CBS Publishers & Distributors, 2005. * ''Laughter: Its Concept and Papua New Guineans'', New Delhi: CBS, 2007. * ''Understanding Papua New Guinea'', New Delhi: Scientific International, 2013. Joint author: M. L. Ahuja. * ''Books for National Development'', New Delhi: MEDTEC, an imprint of Scientific International Pvt. Ltd., 013 Joint author: M. L. Ahuja. * ''Christianity: Faith and Holy Days'', New Delhi: MEDTEC, an imprint of Scientific International Pvt. Ltd., 2014. Joint author: M. L. Ahuja.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matane, Paulias 1931 births 2021 deaths Ambassadors of Papua New Guinea to the United States Permanent representatives of Papua New Guinea to the United Nations Governors-general of Papua New Guinea Grand Companions of the Order of Logohu Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from East New Britain Province Papua New Guinean Protestants