18 Facts About Belden Namah

Belden Namah was born on 30 December 1969 and is a Papua New Guinean politician.

Belden Namah served in the Cabinet from 2007 to 2010, and as Deputy Prime Minister from 2011 to 2012.

Belden Namah is from Vanimo, near Papua New Guinea's border with Indonesia.

Belden Namah joined the military, graduated from Australia's Royal Military College in Duntroon, and was trained for a special-forces unit.

In 2007, Belden Namah entered Parliament as a member of the National Alliance Party and became Minister of Forestry and Natural Resources in the Michael Somare-Puka Temu cabinet.

Belden Namah became interim governor, mobilising support from local politicians which was challenged by the provincial administration, and withdrew from an April 2015 by-election for governor.

Belden Namah became de facto leader of the opposition, where he led two initiatives to seize power.

In 2022, Belden Namah announced he would leave the opposition and join the government.

Belden Namah was appointed in September 2022 as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Parliament Committee.

In May 2012, Belden Namah stormed into the Supreme Court, accused Chief Justice Salomo Injia of sedition, and demanded his resignation.

The court had upheld a December 2011 ruling that the O'Neill-Belden Namah government was illegal, and the incident was referred to the Ombudsman Commission as misconduct in office.

Belden Namah was referred by the prosecutor to a Leadership Tribunal in October 2016, four-and-a-half years after the events took place, and was suspended from his post.

Belden Namah asked for a judicial review of his dismissal and called the ruling a miscarriage of justice; of several MPs involved in storming the Supreme Court, Belden Namah was the only one prosecuted.

Belden Namah said that Prime Minister Peter O'Neill was disqualified from being the acting Minister of Police.

O'Neill asked authorities to investigate how Belden Namah obtained K50 million in 2012 campaign spending.

Belden Namah was reportedly ejected from a Sydney casino in because of misbehaviour, but was readmitted because he was a high roller.

Police requested an interview with him in June 2013 about the possible misappropriation of A$4.6 million meant for a road project in West Sepik, but Belden Namah denied the allegation.

When Belden Namah became deputy prime minister in 2011, he said that any government he might lead would aim to provide free universal education and healthcare, and to "fix the law and order problem in this country".