Pangu Pati, also called the Pangu Party, is the oldest political party in Papua New Guinea. They focus on nationalism (putting PNG first) and development (improving the economy and people’s lives).
Pangu Pati is officially Papua na Niugini Yunion Pati in English Papua and New Guiniea Union Party or Pangu Party
Here’s some key info:
- Founded in 1967, it’s been around a long time!
- Pangu Pati held all levels of government, from local to national.
- In the most recent election (July 2022), they were the biggest party in Parliament.
- Currently, Prime Minister James Marape is the party leader.
Sir Michael Somare Server as the Prime Minister for Papua New Guinea and as the Party Leader from 1972 to 1980 and from 1982 to 1985.
Sir Michael Somare was the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea for several terms. He was first elected in the 1970s and served as leader of the Pangu Party. There were some disagreements within the party, and some members left to follow another leader. Somare then became leader of a different party called the National Alliance Party. In 1985, Paias Wingti led a group within the party to break away from Somare. They held a vote of no confidence against Somare, and Wingti won. So, Wingti became the new prime minister. Then, in 1988, Rabbie Namaliu took over as the leader of the party from Somare. Namaliu then served as the prime minister from 1988 to 1992.
In the 2002 elections, the party led by Chris Haiveta managed to secure 6 out of 109 seats. Following this election, Somare regained his position as prime minister. Pangu then joined Somare’s coalition government, and even after the 2007 elections, where Pangu won 5 seats, they continued to support Somare’s government.
At the 2012 election, Pangu only managed to secure one seat, which was won by Ludwig Schulze, the MP for Angoram. Unfortunately, Pangu was left without representation when Schulze passed away in March 2013. However, in August 2014, Sam Basil, who was the Deputy Opposition Leader at the time, joined Pangu and revived its presence in parliament, assuming leadership. Then, in August 2015, the party’s numbers increased to two when William Samb won a by-election in Goilala Open.