Michael Somare, Papua New Guinea’s first prime minister, who played an important role in leading the country to Australia’s independence, died on Friday in Port Moresby, the capital. He was 84 years old.
Her death in a hospital was announced by her daughter Betha Somare, who said she was admitted to hospital on February 19 after being diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer.
“Unfortunately, pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers that are rarely detected early,” she said in an e-mailed statement. “We, as a family, had only two weeks to look for possible treatments for our father.”
Widely regarded as “papa blo kantri”, the father of his Pacific nation, Somare was Papua New Guinea’s prime minister with the longest three terms of office, for 17 of the country’s 45 years of independence. He held the position from 1975 to 1980; from 1982 to 1985; and from 2002 to 2011.
Mr. Somare played a key role in addressing the challenges raised by the country’s different tribal groups, Australian expats and the Australian government on the road to independence.
Ronald May, a fellow emeritus from the Department of Pacific Affairs at Australian National University, wrote in the obituary about Mr. Somare on a university website:
“Despite these challenges, Papua New Guinea made a smooth transition to independence in 1975, with Mr. Somare as prime minister, confusing those in Australia and elsewhere who predicted a political and economic collapse. It remains one of a very small number of post-colonial states that have maintained an unbroken record of democracy. “
Mr. Somare was born on April 9, 1936, in Rabaul, East New Britain province, where his father worked as a police officer. The young Mr Somare was brought up in the province of East Sepik, which he would later represent in Parliament.
He worked as a translator and journalist before entering politics as the founder of Pangu Pati, who acted as an unofficial opposition in Parliament before forming a coalition that led the country to independence.
He served as chief minister of Papua New Guinea as a territory administered by Australia and, after independence, as first prime minister.
In a midnight radio speech to the new nation, Mr. Somare said: “This is just the beginning. Now we must support ourselves and work harder than ever. We are truly masters of our own destiny. “
He spent the last part of his last intensive care mandate outside Papua New Guinea, during which he was removed from office by a group of lawmakers who declared that the post of prime minister was vacant. Mr. Somare officially retired from politics in 2017.
In addition to his daughter Betha, Mr. Somare leaves his wife, Veronica, whom he married in 1965; and his other children, Sana, Arthur, Michael and Dulciana.
On Friday, Mr. Marape asked for “a week of silence, peace and calm while we respect this person to whom our country owes a lot”.