Carol Kidu
Dame Carol, Lady Kidu DBE[1] (born 10 October 1948)[2] is an Australian-born Papua New Guinean politician. She is the first female cabinet minister in Papua New Guinea, serving, since 2002, as the Minister for Community Development, and currently as Sports Minister.[3] She is a member of the Melanesian Alliance Party.[4]
Born Carol Anne Millwater in Shorncliffe, Queensland, Australia, she relocated to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea after marrying Buri Kidu, who was knighted in 1980 and became Chief Justice of Papua New Guinea. She became a teacher and wrote school textbooks.[5] She was widowed in 1993 after her husband died of a heart attack.[1][4]
Lady Kidu entered politics in 1997, standing as a candidate in the parliamentary elections, and was elected Member of Parliament for the Port Moresby South constituency. She was re-elected in 2002 and 2007.[5]
She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in January 2005.[6] That year, she was reportedly considered for the position of Deputy Prime Minister, but stated that she would not be interested in it.[7] In 2007, the magazine Islands Business named her "Person of the Year", in recognition of her efforts towards poverty alleviation, against domestic violence and child abuse, against HIV and AIDS and in favour of women's empowerment.[5]
In February 2009, she was made a knight of the Légion d'honneur by France, for "her dedication to helping women, young girls, children, the physically and mentally impaired and her commitment to fighting discrimination".[8][9] She was the first citizen of Papua New Guinea ever to receive this award.[8] She accepted the award on behalf of the people of Papua New Guinea.[10]
References
- ^ a b "Lady Carol Kidu in conversation". ABC Queensland. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2005-02-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Panscript
- ^ "PNG senators 'thrilled' by Kompaon Paralympics silver". Radio Australia. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2008-09-18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Forbes, Mark (2002-07-15). "How a Brisbane girl became PNG's first white female MP". The Age.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c Pareti, Samisoni. "Cover Story/ A FIGHTER WITH A DIFFERENCE: Dame Carol Kidu: Our 2007 Person of the Year". Islands Business.
- ^ Sir Buri Kidu KGB: In Memory
- ^ "Dame Carol Kidu rules out PNG deputy prime ministership". Radio New Zealand International. 2005-06-03.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Abaijah, Liama (13 February 2009). "French honour for Dame Carol". The National.
- ^ "Décoration de Dame Carol Kidu" (in French). French embassy to Papua New Guinea. 12 February 2009.
- ^ "Dame Carol's speech upon receiving the Légion d'honneur" (PDF). French embassy to Papua New Guinea.
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