Theonila Roka Matbob | |
---|---|
Matbob in 2019 | |
Minister of Education | |
Assumed office 2 October 2020 | |
President | Ishmael Toroama |
Member of the Bougainville House of Representatives | |
Assumed office 2020 | |
Preceded by | Michael Lapolela |
Constituency | Ioro |
Personal details | |
Born | 1990 |
Nationality | Papua New Guinean |
Theonila Roka Matbob (born 1990) [1] is a Bougainvillian politician and Cabinet Minister. She was the second woman in Bougainville to win an open electorate seat in the Bougainville House of Representatives. [2]
Roka Matbob is from Ioro in Central Bougainville, [3] and grew up during the Bougainville Civil War. [1] She was educated at Divine Word University [4] and the University of Goroka, [1] and subsequently established a counselling and learning centre in Iora. [3]
At the 2020 Bougainvillean general election she contested the seat of Ioro,beating 15 men to win the seat. [2] As minister of education,she was one of two women appointed on 2 October 2020 to the cabinet of the president,Ishmael Toroama,the other being Yolande Geraldine Paul. [5] [6]
In September 2020 she was one of a group of Boungainville villagers who filed a human rights complaint against Rio Tinto over environmental degradation caused by the Panguna mine. [7] [8]