Charles Abel

Charles Abel (born 24 September 1968) is a Papua New Guinean politician. He has been a member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea since August 2007, representing the electorate of Alotau Open. He is currently Minister for Finance and Rural Development.

For the patent attorney, see Charles Denton Abel.
The Honourable

Charles Abel

MP
Charles Abel in 2013
Minister for Finance and Rural Development
Assumed office
7 June 2019
Prime MinisterJames Marape
Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
In office
August 2017 – 31 May 2019
Prime MinisterPeter O'Neill
Preceded byLeo Dion
Succeeded byDavis Steven
Treasurer
In office
August 2017 – 31 May 2019
Prime MinisterPeter O'Neill
Succeeded bySam Basil
Minister for National Planning
In office
2012–2017
Prime MinisterPeter O'Neill
Succeeded byRichard Maru
Minister for Trade, Commerce and Industry
In office
5 August 2011 – 2012
Prime MinisterPeter O'Neill
Minister for Culture and Tourism
In office
29 August 2007 – July 2010
Prime MinisterMichael Somare
Member of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea
Assumed office
6 August 2007
Preceded byIsaac Taitibe
ConstituencyAlotau Open
Personal details
Born (1969-09-24) 24 September 1969
NationalityPapua New Guinean
Political partyOur Development Party (2019–)
Other political
affiliations		People's National Congress (2011–2019)
National Alliance Party (2007-2011)
Independent (2007)
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionAccountant

Previously, he was the Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea between August 2017 and May 2019.[1] He was previously Minister for National Planning in the O'Neill government from 2012 to 2017.[2][3]

Early life and education

Abel is the son of Christopher Charles Abel (knighted in 2018), who was involved in the government of Milne Bay Province.[4] His father's uncle was Sir Cecil Abel, one of the founders of the Pangu Party, and his father's grandfather was missionary Reverend Charles Abel.[5] Abel completed his secondary education at Immanuel Lutheran College, Buderim in Queensland, Australia. He then completed a Bachelor of Economics at the University of Queensland in 1989. In the 1990s, he was a vocalist in a band, Wabo Knights. Abel is an accountant by profession.[2][6]

Political career

Abel was elected to the National Parliament as an independent at the 2007 election, but joined the governing National Alliance Party upon his election, stating that he and other Milne Bay politicians had been "promised a better share of the cake".[7][8] On 28 August 2007, he was appointed Minister for Culture and Tourism in the Somare government.[2] His time as Minister for Culture and Tourism saw an agreement with his Chinese Chinese counterpart on Approved Destination Status for Papua New Guinea, a wide range of issues regarding the popular Kokoda Track, including preservation, nearby mining, track access, and airline connections, and seeking the return of illegally exported artefacts.[9][10][11][12] During this time he also initiated a Settlement Reform Committee in Milne Bay to address the issue of squatter settlements, and while acting as Minister for Civil Aviation dealt with the response to the Airlines PNG Flight 4684 crash.[13][14]

On 19 July 2010, Abel and three other ministers, Belden Namah, Puka Temu and Ano Pala, defected to the opposition and attempted a vote of no confidence in Somare, which was unsuccessful when Somare succeeded in adjourning parliament instead.[15][16] Although sacked as Minister by Somare in the aftermath, when the motion again came up in November, Abel wrote a letter indicating that he wished to withdraw his support for it, and it again failed.[17][18][19] In a June 2011 ministerial reshuffle, he was appointed Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Constitutional and Electoral Matters in a ministerial reshuffle by Acting Prime Minister Sam Abal.[20]

On 2 August 2011, Abel supported a no-confidence motion in Acting Prime Minister Abal and voted to elect Peter O'Neill as the new Prime Minister.[21] He stated that he had advised Abal on numerous occasions of "dissatisfactions within the government" but that Abal had been "slow in executing his powers".[22] He was subsequently appointed Minister for Commerce, Industry and Trade in the O'Neill government.[23] He subsequently joined O'Neill's People's National Congress party, and was later re-elected under that banner at the 2012 election.[24][25] Following his re-election, he was promoted to Minister for National Planning by O'Neill in August.[26] As Minister for National Planning, his role has included individual infrastructure projects, addressing public service corruption, a long-running project to introduce a biometric national identification card, the implementation of a sustainable development strategy, and issues with aid delivery and the Australian detention centre at Manus Island.[27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]

In August 2017, Abel was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister under Peter O'Neill following the defeat of his predecessor Leo Dion at the 2017 election.[1] He lost the position in the First Marape Cabinet, becoming Minister for Finance and Rural Development on 7 June 2019.[35]

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References
  1. "Charles Abel acknowledges mistakes but optimistic of future". PNG Post-Courier. 4 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  2. "Hon. Charles Abel, MP". National Parliament of Papua New Guinea. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  3. "Nominations By Electorate" (PDF). PNG Electoral Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  4. "Honour for Abel". The National (PNG). 12 June 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  5. "Caring heart truly serves his people". PNG Post-Courier. 20 May 2009.
  6. "Music sounding new vibes on the political front". PNG Post-Courier. 15 August 2012.
  7. "National Alliance set on recruitment drive in ENB". PNG Post-Courier. 3 August 2007.
  8. "MPs hopeful NA will keep promise". PNG Post-Courier. 20 August 2007.
  9. "PNG signs tourism deal with China". PNG Post-Courier. 9 November 2007.
  10. "Kokoda closure upsets tourism Minister Abel". PNG Post-Courier. 11 February 2010.
  11. "PNG minister worried about Kokoda mining". SBS World News. 12 December 2007.
  12. "Papua New Guinea prepared to sue US collections over "stolen" artefact". The National. 14 May 2010.
  13. "Solutions for development". PNG Post-Courier. 26 February 2008.
  14. "PNG plane crash probe 'hugely important'". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 September 2009.
  15. "PNG govt splits, four ministers defect". Australian Associated Press. 19 July 2010.
  16. "Chief survives a tumultous week". Weekend Courier. 24 July 2010.
  17. "No-Confidence Motion in PNG's Prime Minister Rejected Once Again". IHS Global Insight Daily Analysis. 25 November 2010.
  18. "Papua New Guinea Government List". Reuters. 22 December 2010.
  19. "Battle Lines Drawn in PNG Cabinet Reshuffle". IHS Global Insight Daily Analysis. 22 June 2011.
  20. "Major reshuffle". PNG Post-Courier. 22 June 2011.
  21. "Ruling Party Split Behind Change of Government in PNG". IHS Global Insight Daily Analysis. 2 August 2011.
  22. "Tiensten, Tammur, Pruaitch cop blame". PNG Post-Courier. 3 August 2011.
  23. "Co-operative societies in Milne Bay get funding". PNG Post-Courier. 23 August 2011.
  24. "Winners and losers in MBP". PNG Post Courier. 27 June 2012.
  25. "PNC leads with 7, PPP second with four". PNG Post-Courier. 19 July 2012.
  26. "PNG's new cabinet announced in its entirety". Radio New Zealand News. 10 August 2012.
  27. "Corrupt practices rife in public service". PNG Post Courier. 19 March 2015.
  28. "Electronic registration for voters in PNG planned for next election". Radio New Zealand News. 29 October 2012.
  29. "Abel: New ID system not against Christian belief". PNG Post Courier. 5 February 2015.
  30. "PM to roll out national ID program". PNG Post Courier. 23 February 2015.
  31. "Conservation giant backs PNG's 'visionary' sustainable development strategy". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 July 2014.
  32. "Aid programs a major focus for Govt". PNG Post Courier. 18 April 2013.
  33. "G4S gets K30m, media barred". PNG Post Courier. 25 October 2012.
  34. "Rush to the polls before voters realise Manus's no solution at all". The Australian. 5 August 2013.
  35. "EMTV Online". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-06-07.
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