Joseph Nombri

Sir Joseph Nombri (1940 –2008) was a politician, administrator and diplomat in Papua New Guinea (PNG). He was a significant player in the events that led to PNG's independence in 1975 and later served as its ambassador to Japan.

Nombri participated in the Bully Beef Club, a political debate club that included students from the Administrative College, among other institutions, in the middle of the 1960s. Somare and Albert Maori Kiki, whose home the meetings were typically held, were both members. The Pangu Pati was established in 1967 as a result of the Bully Beef Club, with Nombri serving as its inaugural chairman. Pangu participated in the 1968 and 1972 Papua and New Guinea House of Assembly elections before establishing the nation's first independent government in Papua New Guinea in 1975.

He was named ambassador to Japan, South Korea, and China in 1981. He served in this capacity for 11 years, rising to the rank of doyen in the Tokyo diplomatic community. He had the option of staying in the position longer, but in 1991 he asked to be recalled so he could run in the 1992 presidential election. He ran for the Chimbu Regional position but was unsuccessful. A new hospital for his hometown of Kundiawa, which would be named after him after his passing, was one of the investments by Japan and China in PNG that he was able to promote as ambassador.