John Momis
| John Momis | |
|---|---|
| 4th President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville | |
|
Assumed office 10 January 2010 |
|
| Vice President | Patrick Nisira |
| Preceded by | James Tanis |
| Governor of Bougainville | |
|
In office 9 December 1999 – 20 April 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | Office created |
| Succeeded by | Gerard Sinato (acting) |
| Papua New Guinean Ambassador to China | |
|
In office August 29, 2007 – 10 January 2010 |
|
| Preceded by | Max Rai |
| Succeeded by | Christopher Mero |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Salamaua, Territory of New Guinea |
| Political party | New Bougainville Party |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Momis |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
John Momis (born 1942) is a politician and elected President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville of Papua New Guinea. Momis was sworn in as President of Bougainville on June 10, 2010 for a five-year term. He defeated his predecessor, President 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. He was reelected for a second period (2015-2020), in the general elections in May 2015.
Momis served as a Catholic priest from 1970 until 1993, becoming active in politics and elected to the assembly in the 1970s. He 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. After it was confirmed as a province, he returned to national politics. Following the end of the civil war, he was appointed as the Governor of Bougainville from 1999 until 2005. He was Papua New Guinea's ambassador to the People's Republic of China.
John Momis was born in Salamaua, Morobe Province, in the colonial Territory of New Guinea. Some sources list Momis birth year as 1942. However, most media sources cite Momis' age as 71 years at the time of his election as President of Bougainville in June 2010, which places his birth year at approximately 1938 or 1939.
Momis attended Buin Primary School in Bougainville and St. Brendan's College, located in Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia. In 1963, Momis entered Holy Spirit Seminary, a Roman Catholic seminary in Madang. He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1970. He remained a Catholic priest until 1993, when he was granted an official dispensation to leave the priesthood. Momis married Elizabeth, and remains a devout Roman Catholic to the present-day.
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