| Bill Skate |
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He was Prime Minister from 1997 to 1999 and resigned after 18 months, fearing that he would lose a challenge. In 2002 , his political party the People's National Congress (PNC) became a coalition partner in the government of Michael Somare and Skate became Speaker of the National Parliament. He was appointed acting Governor-General in November 2003 , a constitutional requirement when that office falls vacant. Sir Pato Kakeraya was scheduled to take up the office on January 20 , 2004 , but Skate continued to act in the office because of court challenges to Kakeraya's election. On March 3 , 2004 , Skate was suspended as acting governor-general because of allegations that he misappropriated funds during the 1990s. He then advised the Prime Minister to appoint a cabinet minister as acting governor-general. The following day, however, he was cleared of the financial charges in court, and he became acting governor-general again. In May 2004 , his party left the coalition when he and other members refused to support a constitutional amendment supported by Somare which would have given the government more time to be immune to no confidence votes. As a result, the PNC became the largest opposition party. On May 28 , 2004 , Skate ceased to be Speaker when the parliament elected a pro-government candidate, Jeffrey Nape . The office of governor-general was still vacant at that stage, so Nape automatically succeeded Skate as acting governor-general. Bill Skate was knighted in January 2005 for services to parliament, becoming Sir William Skate. He died in hospital on 3 January , 2006 , in Brisbane , Australia , where he had been airlifted after suffering a stroke in late December 2005 . He was buried in Port Moresby . He was the first Papua New Guinea Prime Minister to die. See also: List Of National Leaders . |
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