Paulias Matane

Sir Paulias Matane (born 1931) is the governor-general of Papua New Guinea since June 29 2004. He was elected by Parliament on May 27, 2004, receiving 50 votes, while his opponent, Sir Pato Kakaraya received 46 votes. Attempts to elect a governor-general had failed repeatedly for six months before Matane's election because of constitutional flaws in the nomination process, and though Matane has been sworn in, controversy continues, as Kakaraya has brought a petition to the Supreme Court to attempt to invalidate the election.