Joseph Kabui, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJoseph Kabui
politician
Date of Birth: 01-Jan-0001
Place of Birth: Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea
Date of Death: 07-Jun-2008
Profession: politician
Zodiac Sign: Capricorn 
About Joseph Kabui
- Joseph Canisius Kabui (1954 – 7 June 2008) was a secessionist leader and the first President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, off the coast of Papua New Guinea, from 2005 to 2008.
- He was also the leader of the Bougainville People's Congress.Kabui was a commander in the Bougainville Revolutionary Army during the war in Bougainville in the 1990s.
- In June 2005, after the island gained autonomy within Papua New Guinea, he was elected as President of Bougainville by a large majority, winning 38,000 out of 69,385 votes.While in office, he granted a Canadian company, Invincible Resources, access rights to 70% of Bougainville's mineral resources, and he was widely criticized for this decision.
- This was announced in 2008 with no prior discussion in Parliament, and shortly before Kabui's death it was expected that a motion of no-confidence would be presented against him.
- In an interview shortly before his death, he said that his dream was "to see Bougainville [become] a Kuwait of the Pacific".Kabui went to Brisbane for medical treatment prior to his sudden death on 7 June 2008 at a hospital in Buka.
- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Kabui a "skilled mediator and peacemaker who had a genuine interest in the future of his people", and according to Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, Kabui played a "key role in restoring Bougainville to peace following the bitter conflict on the island".
- A state funeral was held for Kabui at the St.
- Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Boroko in Port Moresby on 10 June.
- His body was returned to Buka on 11 June, and a funeral mass was held for him in Buka on 12 June.
- His body was planned to be taken to Arawa, Panguna, and finally the village of Padorima in Central Bougainville.
- The Bougainville government declared a public holiday to mourn Kabui.Kabui was believed to have died of a heart attack.
- In an interview with the Port-Courier, a newspaper in Papua New Guinea, that he gave 12 hours before his death, Kabui said that he had stopped taking his heart medicine four months beforehand and was taking a water tonic instead because the medicine was too expensive.
- He dismissed suggestions of seeking help, saying that "I am not a man that would ask for things that concern me", and he also said that he had missed a medical check-up because he was too busy with work.
- His next check-up was scheduled for later in June, but he noted that the necessary trip to Australia was expensive as well.Vice-President John Tabinaman became Acting President following Kabui's death.
- The existing method for filling a vacancy in the presidency is to hold a new popular election, and Tabinaman described this as likely, while also noting the possibility of a constitutional amendment that would instead allow Parliament to elect one of its members as President.
- Planning for a new popular election subsequently began.
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