“On the 25th of February 2021, we host this ceremony to honour, to celebrate and to remember Grand Chief Sir Michael Thomas Somare.” “The Architect of our Nation and the one and only Grand Chief of our country.” “No one else deserves the title as no one else in our country can be like him, can live his life and achieve all that he has achieved.” National Capital District Governor (NCD) Powes Parkop stated this during his speech at the Memorial Service of the Late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare held at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby. Governor Parkop said that it is a pleasure to celebrate, pay respect, remember and honour the life and mission and the values, achievement and the story of the father and architect of our Nation Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare. He said the journey of Grand Chief reigned and started in 1968, or even before that in the bully beef club now Pangu Party. “We are his legacy, and his life defines all of us, on behalf of our Capital City, I want to extend my thank you and gratitude to Sir Michael for his life, for his determination, for his vision, his passion, his conviction and his energy and faith in our people and our country.” “In the history of the world, a few people have stood up among millions and billions to define the destiny of their people and their country and indeed to define their world. Ours is of course Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare.” “A chief, a Kukurai, a boy from Murik Lakes in East Sepik Province. These very few people have certain attributes that set them apart from the rest of us.” “They are determined, they are very passionate, they are very resilient, and they are very visionary. All these attributes and virtues of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare,” Governor Parkop said. He added that the Grand Chief was more than that as he was a very peaceful, kind person and he was also very smart and wise. Governor Parkop said Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare was there for the highest moment for our people and our country and he always put that ahead of his own life. “Going forward on this date we must all gather to honour Grand Chief as his life defines all of us.” “Sir Michael is an exceptional man and sometimes we take him for granted but his is one of the few rare people with true determination that was able to craft and put a diverse nation together.” “Sir Michael had determination and had faith in our people to become independent and to define our own journey and our own destiny and these I believe are the most important legacy of Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare that we must recognize, we must celebrate, we must remember and more importantly we must continue to emulate.”