The man who led Papua New Guinea to independence, Sir Michael Somare, died on Friday after succumbing to pancreatic cancer. Known as the father of the nation, Somare was a key figure in the country’s peaceful transformation from colony to independent nation, and served as its prime minister for 17 years. Tributes poured in for the 84yo over the weekend with PM Morrison taking to Twitter to offer condolences, calling him a “great friend” to Australia. Former ABC correspondent in PNG Sean Dorney, who knew Somare from before independence, told SBS “His greatest legacy, that this long after independence, with so many language groups, with so many different cultures in PNG, that it still is one country.