1. John Momis was born on 3 March 1942 and is a Bougainvillean politician who served as the President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea between 2010 and 2020.
31 Facts About John Momis
1. 2.
John Momis was a co-writer of the Constitution of Papua New Guinea and worked to establish a secessionist organization in what was then North Solomons Province.
3.
John Momis was Papua New Guinea's ambassador to China from 2007 to 2010.
4.
John Momis defeated his predecessor James Tanis and five other challengers by a landslide in the 2010 presidential election, in which he was a candidate of the New Bougainville Party.
5.
John Momis was reelected for a second five year-term in the general elections in May 2015.
6.
John Momis was born in Salamaua, Morobe Province, in the colonial Territory of New Guinea.
7.
John Momis attended Buin Primary School in Bougainville and St Brendan's College, located in Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia.
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In 1963, John Momis entered Holy Spirit Seminary, a Roman Catholic seminary in Madang.
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John Momis was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1970.
10.
John Momis remained a Catholic priest until 1993, when he was granted an official dispensation to leave the priesthood.
11.
John Momis married Elizabeth, and remains a devout Roman Catholic to the present day.
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John Momis is considered to be a native of South Bougainville, which continued to be unstable politically in the 21st century.
13.
John Momis became active in politics while serving as a Catholic priest.
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John Momis chaired the constitutional committee, which wrote and drafted Papua New Guinea's national constitution, from 1972 until 1975.
15.
Shortly before independence, John Momis resigned his seat in the PNG parliament to establish a secessionist organization in North Solomons.
16.
However, John Momis quickly returned to national Papuan politics after North Solomons was established as a province with a provincial government within Papua New Guinea.
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In 1977, John Momis was re-elected to the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea as a member from North Solomons.
18.
John Momis soon co-founded the new Melanesian Alliance Party with John Kaputin.
19.
John Momis initially supported Prime Minister Michael Somare's first coalition government and was appointed Minister for Decentralization in Somare's government.
20.
John Momis remained PNG's Minister for Decentralization until 1982, including two years in the government of Prime Minister Julius Chan.
21.
In March 1980, John Momis had joined with other members of parliament from North Solomons to support a successful vote of no confidence in Michael Somare.
22.
John Momis held a number of positions in the Papua New Guinean parliament over the next decade, including Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 1985 until 1987 and again from 1987 to 1988; Minister for Provincial Affairs from 1988 until 1992 in the government of Prime Minister Rabbie Namaliu; Shadow Minister for Bougainville Affairs in 1992; Shadow Minister for Provincial Affairs in 1993; Deputy Leader of the Opposition in 1994; and Minister of Information and Communication in 1994.
23.
John Momis was appointed as the Governor of Bougainville, serving from 9 December 1999 until 20 April 2005.
24.
John Momis resigned as governor in 2005 to contest Bougainville's first presidential election that year.
25.
John Momis ultimately lost the election to Bougainville's first president, Joseph Kabui.
26.
In 2010, John Momis resigned his post as Papua New Guinea's ambassador to the People's Republic of China to contest the 2010 presidential election.
27.
John Momis was chosen as the leader of the New Bougainville Party in January 2010.
28.
John Momis contested the election against incumbent President James Tanis and five other challengers.
29.
John Momis won the popular vote in both South Bougainville and Tanis' home region of Central Bougainville.
30.
John Momis was sworn into office for a 5-year term as President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville on 10 June 2010 at the Parliament house.
31.
John Momis stated that his first priorities in office were to fight political corruption and to arrange disposal of the large number of weapons and unexploded ordnance left over from Bougainville's long war.