Paul Lapun
Sir Paul Lapun | |
---|---|
Minister of Mines and Energy | |
In office 1972–1977 | |
Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea | |
In office 1972–1977 | |
Member of the House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea | |
In office 1964–1972 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1923 Buin, Territory of New Guinea |
Died | 26 October 2003 (Aged 79 or 80) |
Spouse | Lady Sarah Lapun |
Children | 3 daughters; two sons |
Sir Paul Lapun
Early life and education
Paul Lapun was born in Mabes village, Banoni, in what was, at the time, the
Political career
In 1964 Lapun was elected to the first House of Assembly of Papua and New Guinea for the South Bougainville seat, and was made undersecretary for Forests. He was an outspoken critic of the colonial government's policies and faced considerable opposition from the administration. In 1967, he persuaded the House of Assembly, despite protests from members of the House who had been appointed by the Australian government, to agree that 5% of government royalty receipts from the
Having resolved the issue of compensation, Lapun then turned his attention to the question of independence for Bougainville. In 1969 he was one of the founders of the Bougainville secessionist movement and in the same year he became patron of the pro-independence Napidakoe Navitu movement. Support for the secessionists increased as the result of the government wanting to remove people from their land to make way for Arawa, a new town to serve the mine, and after two civil servants from Bougainville were murdered in Goroka in the PNG highlands. Lapun thus found himself in a contradictory position of being a leading member of the Pangu Party, which stressed national unity, and being active in the movement that wanted to secede from PNG. In 1977 he failed to be re-elected as younger secessionists, who had more appeal for the electorate, had emerged with more of a confrontational approach than that being followed by Lapun.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]
Honours
Lapun was knighted in
Later life and death
After his election defeat in 1977, he lived in Bougainville. He died 26 October 2003 in the Bana district of south Bougainville. Lapun was married to Sarah Lapun and they had three daughters and two sons.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d "Paul Lapun". Tok Pisin English Dictionary. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Sir Paul Lapun dies". PAC – Pacific Islands Broadcasting Association. 29 October 2003.
- ^ a b c Ogan, Eugene (1974). "Cargo and politics in Bougainville, 1962–72". The Journal of Pacific History. 9: 117–129.
- ^ ISBN 9781740761383.
- ^ a b "Transcript of interview with Paul Lapun" (PDF). Colonial Syndrome Org. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ Griffin, James; May, R.J. (1982). Napidakoe Navitu. In Micronationalist Movements in Papua New Guinea (Political and Social Change Monograph 1 ed.). Canberra: Australian National University. pp. 113–138.
- ^ "A people impoverished and humiliated by Rio Tinto: Bougainville's Sir Paul Lapun speaks out". PNG Exposed. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
- ^ "The Queen in Kieta accompanied by Paul Lapun". Sunday Bulletin. Retrieved 3 March 2022.