Draft:Leo Hannett

Leo Joseph Hannett (17 July 1941 – 15 June 2018) was a politician from Nissan Island in the Bougainville region of Papua New Guinea. He was a leading advocate for Bougainvillean independence

Early life
Hannett was born on 17 July 1941 in Nissan Island within the Australian-administered Territory of New Guinea, shortly before the Japanese occupation of New Guinea.

Politics
In 1968, Hannett was one of a group of Bougainvillean students living in Port Moresby who called for a referendum to be held on Bougainville's future. He served as the group's spokesman and issued a statement requesting a vote by 1970 "to decide whether Bougainville should be independent, should unite with the Solomon Islands to constitute a separate unit, or should remain with PNG".

In 1969, the Australia Party sponsored Hannett to undertake a four-state speaking tour in Australia, at the invitation of party leader Reg Turnbull.

In 1973, PNG chief minister Michael Somare asked Hannett to chair the Bougainville Special Political Committee. The committee comprised 36 local leaders and was tasked with gauging public opinion on Bougainville's political future, with a report to be delivered to the Constitutional Planning Committee chaired by John Momis.