Mekere Morauta
Mekere Morauta (* 1946 in Kukipi ) is a Papuan of New Guinea - politician. He was Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea of 1999 to 2002. He is the current Member of Parliament for Port Moresby North - West in the parliament of Papua New Guinea, and was until August 2006 Chairman of the National Capital District Commission.
Mekere Morauta was born in Kukipi, a village on the coast east of Kerema in the Gulf Province of Papua New Guinea. He went to the local primary school, then to the Kerema High School and the Sogeri National High School, graduated from the University of Papua New Guinea; which he finished with a Bachelor of Economics in 1970, and was an exchange student at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.
After college, he made a distinguished career as an economist in the public sector and in the private sector. 1975 Morauta was appointed the first Minister of Finance of New Guinea papua. This office he held until 1982. He was director of the State Commercial Bank, Bank of Papua New Guinea corporation (1983-1992), and Governor of the State Bank of Papua New Guinea (1992-1996). In July 1997, he came as a Member of Parliament for the electoral district of Port Moresby North - West in the parliament of Papua New Guinea.
Morauta was a member of the so-called Gang of Four, a group of influential young civil servant who in the first decade of independence in 1975, played an important role in the stabilization of the public administration, in cooperation with the political forces Papua New Guinea 's. (The other members of the group were Charles Lepani, Rabbie Namaliu and Anthony Siaguru, Namaliu was also prime minister. )
On 14 July 1999 the Parliament in Port Moresby Morauta chose; as chairman of the PDM (People's Democratic Movement ), as prime minister. After his inauguration, he immediately broke off diplomatic relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan ), his predecessor Bill had skate with the signing of an agreement on the mutual recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Papua New Guinea and the Republic of China received two weeks earlier. His government achieved progress with political and economic reform program. Central management positions were reshuffled and cooperation with international financial institutions was resumed. In August 2002 Mekere Morauta was replaced by a chaotic election of Michael Somare as prime minister.
On 8 August 2011 he was appointed Minister of State enterprises in the government of Peter O'Neill.
Mekere Morauta is married to Roslyn Morauta, and has two sons from a previous marriage.