Silas Atopare
Sir Silas Atopare (1951 – 16 September 2021) was a Papua New Guinean politician who served as the seventh governor-general of Papua New Guinea from November 1997 until November 2003. Early life and education. Atopare was born in Kabiufa, near Goroka in what is now the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. He attended Kabiufa Primary School, which was a Seventh-day Adventist Church school and then went to Kambubu Adventist High School in East New Britain Province. He always remained a member of the Adventist Church. In 1967 he joined the Department of Agriculture and Livestock  and in 1974 he became a coffee plantation manager. A keen rugby player he formed the Asaro Hawks, which was the first team of Papua New Guineans to compete in the largely expatriate Goroka Rugby League. Political career. In 1977, at the age of 25, he was elected to the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea, representing Goroka but failed to be re-elected in 1982. He subsequently held many roles, including being a board member of Air Niugini, mayor of Goroka and president of the Goroka Show committee. In 1991, he was made secretary-general of the PNG Smallholder  Coffee Growers Association and in 1997 was appointed as governor-general. In 1998, he was knighted as a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George. He had to bring order when violence and controversy marred the electoral process in PNG's oil and gas rich Southern Highlands Province. In 2008, Atopare was appointed Grand Chief in the Order of Logohu. Atopare died in Goroka on 16 September 2021, during the 46th Independence Day celebrations. A state funeral was held in Port Moresby.