Gone but not forgotten in the hearts of many Papua New Guineans. Today April 9, 2025, the Founding Father of Papua New Guinea late Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare would be turning 89 years old. Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare peacefully passed away on February 26, 2021, at the age of 84. He passed away two months before his birthday. As our country looks forward to celebrating 50 years of nationhood, Papua New Guineans today still remember his great leadership and wisdom in running our country. Sir Michael led Papua New Guinea to Independence on September 16, 1975, serving as the country’s first and longest Prime Minister. During his Anniversary this year in February 2025 his son Arthur Somare said his father has surprised him on many occasions. Mr. Somare said that he can only imagine how difficult the path to Independence was to have so many thousands of different people over a thousand tribes, over a thousand different languages and dialects and to unit those people together would have been a big challenge for Papua New Guinea. “For a few brave men who looked down at the issues of prejudice and colonialism, who stared into the future, which was unknown on what PNG would be like 50 years on. Will we remain as one people still, will we have fortitude to walk together, to stare down development and 50 years on, those questions still ponder our leaders of today. Sir Michael Somare’s greatest achievement together with his cohort is not the development today but the unification of one country, under one banner as one people to wrestle and take on the challenge of being a free and independent nation. The desire that they have a sovereign nation, the desire that we have a constitutional democracy to have strong laws that our leaders today and our bureaucracy need to continue to uphold in leadership in all segments of life. “Not only in politics, not only in bureaucracy but in churches, in societies, in communities, and in villages,” Mr. Somare said. Today let us remember our Founding father and hope that his wisdom and knowledge will remain in our hearts and mind.