Gang of Four

The Gang of Four in Papua New Guinea (PNG) were four influential young public servants who played an important role in the planning and development of the country immediately after the country's independence from Australia in 1975. Origin of the name The name Gang of Four came from the Maoist political group in China, composed of four Communist Party of China officials who were prominent during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with treason. Its leading figure was Jiang Qing, the last wife of Mao Zedong. In Papua New Guinea In Papua New Guinea, the term began to be applied, initially in a fairly negative way, to four young public servants who headed four important government departments and played a coordinating role for policies and programmes between 1975 and the early 1980s. The name is alleged to have been coined by older Papua New Guineans, who had worked with the Australian colonial administration before independence, and resented the authority of the younger men, who had only graduated a few years before independence. The Gang of Four consisted of Charles Lepani, Mekere Morauta, Rabbie Namaliu, and Anthony Siaguru. Two went on to be prime ministers, one became a senior diplomat, and the fourth had several ministerial roles and later led the fight against corruption in the country. All received knighthoods. Charles Lepani Sir Charles Lepani was head of the National Planning Office of Papua New Guinea during the time of the Gang of Four. He played an important role in the development of the country's mining industry and was PNG's ambassador to the European Union from 1991 to 1994 and high commissioner in Australia between 2005 and 2017.