Peter O'Neill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Peter O'Neill
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O'Neill in 2015
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| 8th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea | |
| In office 2 August 2011 – 29 May 2019 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General | Sir Michael Ogio Theo Zurenuoc (Acting) Sir Robert Dadae |
| Deputy | Leo Dion Charles Abel |
| Preceded by | Sam Abal (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | James Marape |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 27 February 2012 – August 2012 |
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| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Don Polye |
| Succeeded by | James Marape |
| In office July 2010 – July 2011 |
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| Prime Minister | Sam Abal |
| Preceded by | Patrick Pruaitch |
| Succeeded by | Don Polye |
| Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea | |
| Assumed office 2002 |
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| Preceded by | Roy Yaki |
| Constituency | Ialibu-Pangia |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Peter Charles Paire O'Neill
13 February 1965 Ialibu-Pangia, Territory of Papua |
| Political party | People's National Congress |
| Height | 5 ft 3 in (160 cm) |
| Spouse | Lynda May Babao |
| Alma mater | University of Papua New Guinea |
Peter Charles Paire O'Neill (born 13 February 1965) is a politician from Papua New Guinea. He served as the country's Prime Minister from 2011 to 2019. He has been a Member of Parliament for the Ialibu-Pangia area since 2002. Before becoming Prime Minister, he was a cabinet minister and led the People's National Congress party. He stepped down as prime minister to avoid a vote where other politicians would decide if he should stay in power. James Marape became the next Prime Minister.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Peter O'Neill was born on February 13, 1965, in Pangia, which is now part of the Southern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea. His father, Brian O'Neill, was from Australia with Irish roots and worked as a judge. His mother, Awambo Yari, was from the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Peter's father moved to Papua New Guinea in 1949 and worked for the Australian government. He later became a judge in Goroka until he passed away in 1982.
Peter spent his early childhood in his mother's village. After attending high school, he lived in Goroka. He went to Pangia Primary School, Ialibu High School, and Goroka High School. In 1986, he earned a degree in commerce from the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG). He later received an honors degree in accounting from UPNG. In 1989, he became a Certified Practicing Accountant. The next year, he became the president of the Papua New Guinea Institute of Certified Practicing Accountants. Before entering politics, O'Neill was a partner in an accounting firm and held many leadership roles, including being the executive chairman of the PNG Banking Corporation when it was owned by the government.
Starting in Politics
Peter O'Neill began his political career in 2002. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Ialibu-Pangia. At that time, Michael Somare was the Prime Minister. O'Neill was part of the government coalition as a member of the People's National Congress (PNC) party.
He was first appointed as the Minister for Labour and Industrial Relations. In 2003, he became the Minister for Public Service. However, in 2004, he was removed from the Cabinet, and his party, the PNC, joined the opposition. Later that year, O'Neill became the leader of the opposition.
After the 2007 elections, O'Neill rejoined Somare's government as the Minister of the Public Service. In July 2010, he was appointed Minister of Finance. When Prime Minister Somare became ill in 2011, Sam Abal became the acting prime minister. Abal then moved O'Neill to the role of Works Minister in July 2011.
Becoming Prime Minister
First Term (2011-2012)
In April 2011, Prime Minister Somare became sick and went to Singapore for medical care. While he was away, Peter O'Neill led the opposition to remove Sam Abal as acting prime minister. Parliament then elected O'Neill as Prime Minister with a large majority of votes.
However, when Somare returned from Singapore, he said he was still the rightful Prime Minister. The Supreme Court agreed with Somare, but O'Neill still had strong support from most members of Parliament. This led to a period of confusion where both O'Neill and Somare claimed to be the Prime Minister. This situation was called the 2011–2012 Papua New Guinean constitutional crisis. To solve this, the Governor General decided to call for new elections.
Second Term (2012-2017)
In the 2012 general election, O'Neill's PNC party won many more seats than before. He formed a large group of parties that supported him, including three former prime ministers, one of whom was Somare. This showed he had strong support in Parliament.
Third Term (2017-2019)
After the 2017 elections, O'Neill's PNC party was the largest. Even though they won fewer seats than before, O'Neill was still able to form a government. He gathered enough support from other Members of Parliament to stay in power.
However, his support slowly decreased, especially when people started discussing how much Papua New Guinea was benefiting from its natural resources. After a certain period, a vote of no confidence could be called to try and remove the Prime Minister. As this time approached in May 2019, several important ministers, like James Marape (Minister of Finance) and Davis Steven (Attorney General), left O'Neill's government.
Stepping Down
As more politicians left his side, O'Neill faced increasing pressure. On May 7, 2020, a group of politicians who opposed him said they wanted to hold a vote of no confidence, suggesting Marape as the new Prime Minister. O'Neill tried to delay this vote by using parliamentary rules.
However, the political situation changed when William Duma and his party joined the opposition. This gave the opposition enough votes to potentially remove O'Neill.
Even with enough votes, the opposition seemed unsure. They first withdrew their motion for a vote of no confidence. Then, they changed their chosen alternate Prime Minister from Marape to Patrick Pruaitch.
On May 28, the Supreme Court decided that O'Neill could not stop the vote of no confidence from happening. With the opposition now having enough support, O'Neill decided to resign. He appointed Julius Chan as his successor, but Chan quickly changed his mind.
Then, Marape and many other Members of Parliament who had left O'Neill's party suddenly rejoined the government side. This meant the opposition no longer had enough votes. O'Neill resigned again and handed over the role of Prime Minister to Marape. This was in line with the rule that the largest party in Parliament should form the government. Marape was confirmed as Prime Minister with a large majority of votes.
Key Policies
As Prime Minister, O'Neill focused on developing Papua New Guinea. He wanted to fix problems from the past and borrowed a lot of money from China to build new roads and other important structures.
Two of his main promises during the 2012 election were free education and free health care. He continued these policies after being re-elected in 2017. Papua New Guinea's standing in the world also grew when it hosted the 2015 Pacific Games and the APEC summit in 2018 in Port Moresby.
In August 2011, O'Neill's government also created a new public holiday called Repentance Day, celebrated on August 26. This holiday was requested by a group of churches.
International Relations
Australia
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Relations with Australia improved when Kevin Rudd became Australia's Prime Minister again. O'Neill and Rudd made a deal for Australia to send people seeking asylum to Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. However, this deal later faced problems when the Supreme Court said it was against the law. Papua New Guinea also strongly objected when Australia opened a consulate in Bougainville, as this could be seen as Australia recognizing Bougainville as an independent country.
Indonesia
Under O'Neill's government, relations with Indonesia were friendly. In 2013, O'Neill visited Indonesia with a large group of business people to discuss trade. They also talked about border issues and the West Papua region.
O'Neill generally followed Papua New Guinea's long-standing policy towards West Papua: he recognized Indonesia's control over the region and did not consider refugees from West Papua as such. However, in 2015, he spoke out about human rights issues in West Papua, saying, "Sometimes we forget our own families, our own brothers, especially those in West Papua. I think, as a country, the time has come for us to speak about the oppression of our people there."
APEC and China
Hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in 2018 was a big moment for O'Neill. However, the meeting was marked by disagreements. The US president did not attend, and the Russian leader also stayed away. China's leader, Xi Jinping, did come and stayed in Port Moresby. China helped a lot with organizing the meeting, especially by building new structures in Port Moresby.
The meeting ended without a joint statement because the US and China could not agree on key issues. This was the first time that had happened at an APEC meeting. The money spent on this conference, especially buying expensive cars like Maseratis and Bentleys, was a reason for some of the criticism against O'Neill.
Governance and Challenges
When O'Neill was re-elected in 2017, he was seen as a controversial leader. While some praised his time in office, he also faced a lot of criticism regarding how his government was run.
Questions about Funds
O'Neill faced questions about money matters. For example, there were concerns about large payments made to a law firm. An anti-corruption group and police tried to question O'Neill about these payments, but he refused and dismissed the group and the officers involved.
Mine Ownership
O'Neill's government took control of the Ok Tedi Mine without paying compensation to its previous owner, the PNG Sustainable Development Fund (PNGSDF). He said this was mainly because of environmental damage caused by the mine. The previous owner, BHP, had transferred its shares to a trust fund for local communities to avoid claims for environmental damage. O'Neill believed this was a mistake and removed BHP's protection from such claims. He also wanted to ensure that the money from the mine stayed in Papua New Guinea. This led to legal battles in Singapore and Papua New Guinea.
UBS Loan
O'Neill also faced questions about a large loan from the Swiss bank UBS to buy shares in Oil Search. The goal was for Papua New Guinea to own a part of a new oil field project. His Minister for Treasury, Don Polye, refused to sign off on the loan, so O'Neill temporarily took over as Minister for Treasury himself.
These issues led to an investigation by the Ombudsman Commission, which looks into government actions. The Ombudsman recommended that O'Neill face a special tribunal. O'Neill welcomed the chance to clear his name. The Ombudsman's report, which O'Neill had tried to stop, was released in May 2019. It mentioned O'Neill and others, including his successor, Marape, who was Minister of Finance when the deal happened.
The opposition to O'Neill on these issues was strong. University students went on strike, demanding his resignation. Three former Prime Ministers also supported a motion to remove him and urged him to step down.
When O'Neill resigned, he was facing pressure from many sides. Despite these challenges, some, including James Marape, praised O'Neill after he stepped down.
Economy under O'Neill
During O'Neill's time as Prime Minister, Papua New Guinea experienced economic growth. This was mainly due to the start of the ExxonMobil-Total PNG LNG project, which began producing natural gas in 2014. In 2014, the economy grew significantly.
There was a lot of hope for future income, which led to increased government spending on things like public servant wages and new buildings. However, this positive period did not last long. By 2018, an earthquake and a slowdown in economic activity caused growth to drop sharply. Wage increases were delayed, and the government faced financial difficulties. With less income and declining business confidence, challenges to his leadership became unavoidable.
After leaving office, O'Neill defended his economic performance. He stated that investigations into the UBS loan found everything was in order, and that no one could have predicted the fall in world prices. He believed that Oil Search was a valuable asset for Papua New Guinea. He also saw his policies for free education and health care as successful, saying that any problems in delivering these services were due to management issues, not a lack of government priority.
However, his successor, Marape, described the economy as "struggling and bleeding" and in a "very deep economic hole" when he presented his first budget. O'Neill disagreed, claiming that Marape's budget used false information for political reasons.
O'Neill and Marape
After his resignation, it seemed O'Neill might still hold power as the leader of the largest party, the PNC. However, he soon became more isolated. In August 2019, he strongly protested the appointment of Ian Ling-Stuckey as Minister of the Treasury, who had been an opponent. O'Neill also criticized the appointment of other Members of Parliament who had opposed his previous government.
Later, Marape made more changes to the government, removing members of O'Neill's former cabinet. Marape also announced that he was no longer a member of the PNC but had joined the Pangu Party. He said he was elected by people from all parties and was not answerable to the PNC. This meant O'Neill no longer had control over his party. Many members left the PNC, making the Pangu Party the largest in Parliament. Because of this, Marape claimed the right to form the government.
In Opposition
Even after moving to the opposition, O'Neill continued to face criticism. In October 2019, an arrest warrant was issued for him based on accusations of official corruption. O'Neill was released on bail. He was arrested again in May 2020 on similar charges related to buying two generators from an Israeli company. O'Neill said these accusations were politically motivated and that he did not personally benefit. The National Court later dismissed the charge. O'Neill stated that this was an attempt to stop him from running in the next election.
Vote of No Confidence in Marape's Government
Despite seeming isolated, O'Neill was a vocal leader in an attempt to remove Marape's government through a vote of no confidence at the end of 2020. He accused Marape's government of mismanaging the economy, especially the resource sector. He argued that shutting down a gold mine when prices were high was a mistake.
O'Neill and Belden Namah started the move for a vote of no confidence. However, they were not chosen as the alternate prime minister because they both faced court cases at the time. The attempt to remove Marape failed because the opposition was too divided.
In 2022, O'Neill was re-elected to the National Parliament with a large majority. However, he was not a candidate for Prime Minister in the subsequent election and stated he was no longer seeking the position.
Personal Life
Peter O'Neill has been married to Lynda May Babao since 1999. They have six children. This is his second marriage. He was recognized with the Order of St Michael and St George in 2007.
See also
In Spanish: Peter O'Neill para niños
