Sam Abal - Biography
Samuel Tei "Sam" Abal is a Papua New Guinean politician. Abal, who previously served as Foreign Minister from August 2007 to December 2010, became the Deputy Prime Minister of the country in a cabinet reshuffle by Michael Somare on 7 December 2010. He further became acting Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea on 13 December 2010, when Prime Minister Somare stepped down from office to face a tribunal regarding allegations of financial mismanagement. Abal’s tenure as acting Prime Minister ended on 2 August 2011, when Peter O'Neill won a parliamentary vote to be appointed as Prime Minister.
In 2012, Abal became the deputy Opposition Leader upon the retirement of opposition leader, Dame Carol Kidu.
In June 2012, the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier reported that Abal would run for re-election in the 2012 general election as a political independent. Abal, who is running in his Wabag constituency, said he had lost faith in country's political system, which had led to chaos and gridlock in the government. Abal is a strong fighter against corruption in his country.
After graduating with BA in Political Economy, Abal spent all of his working life as a public servant; rising to the position of Administrator of Enga province in the Highlands. In 2002 he won the national elections as candidate for Wabag District in Enga Province and started his political career as a Member of Papua New Guniea Parliament.
In 2014, Abal retired from active politics and is now managing his business interests including his consultancy firm, PacAsia Consultants Ltd, in Port Moresby. His main focus is to help local and overseas enterprises in navigating their way in the local business and political communities; with a strong emphasis on corporate governance practices. On 1st January 2015, he joined G8 Consultants Pty Ltd as a Non-Executive Director.
