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 The prime minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea () is Papua New Guinea's head of government, elected by the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea, National Parliament and formally appointed by the Governor-General of Papua New ...

from 4 July 1988 to 17 July 1992 as leader of the Pangu Party.

Biography

Namaliu was born in

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 ...

Territory of New Guinea The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered League of Nations and then United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua were established in an adm ...

on 3 April 1947. An ethnic Tolai, Namaliu came from

East New Britain East New Britain is a Provinces of Papua New Guinea, 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 ...

. He was educated in Papua New Guinea and in Canada, at the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. Prior to his political career he was an academic in the field of political science at 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 ...

. After Papua New Guinea's independence in 1975, Namaliu was one of four leading civil servants, 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 ...

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 ...

, and Charles Lepani who led the formation of public administration and public policy in PNG's immediate post-independence years. They were often called "

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 ...

". Before becoming prime minister, he served as foreign minister for the first time, from 1982 to 1984, by this time beginning his long alliance with

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 ...

, who was prime minister at that time and served as foreign minister while Namaliu was prime minister. Namaliu was appointed

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

in June 1988. and replaced

Paias Wingti Paias Wingti (born 2 February 1951) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He served as the third Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, prime minister of Papua New Guinea between 1985 and 1988, and again from 1992 to 1994. Early life and education Win ...

as the

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 ...

in July 1988. He was appointed foreign minister in 2002, as part of the National Alliance Party government of

. He served as foreign minister until 12 July 2006 when he became finance minister during a cabinet reshuffle. Namaliu subsequently lost his seat of Kokopo Open at the 2007 Election but had not ruled out a future return to politics. He lost his cabinet post when the new government, again led by Somare, took office in August 2007. As a former prime minister of Papua New Guinea, he was a member of the

Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...

from 1989, and was styled "

The Right Honourable ''The Right Honourable'' (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or variations) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire, and the Commonwealt ...

" with the postnominal letters 'P.C.'. Namaliu married the civil servant, Margaret Nakikus, in 1987. She headed the country's National Planning Office. They had two son and a daughter. After his defeat in parliament in 1992 he left politics to be with Nakikus, who had incurable

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

and was in hospital in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia. She died in 1992. Namaliu died on 31 March 2023, at the age of 75 about 3 days before his 76th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Namaliu, Rabbie 1947 births 2023 deaths Ministers for foreign affairs of Papua New Guinea Leaders of the opposition (Papua New Guinea) Members of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinean members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Prime ministers of Papua New Guinea Speakers of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinean Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Grand Companions of the Order of Logohu People from East New Britain Province Pangu Pati politicians University of Papua New Guinea alumni University of Victoria alumni Academic staff of the University of Papua New Guinea 20th-century Papua New Guinean politicians