Wingti was born in 1951 and co-founded the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) in 1985.

He took office in late 1985 after removing Sir Michael Somare in a Vote of No Confidence.

At the 1987 elections he managed to form another governing coalition but fell himself to a No Confidence Vote in 1988.

Returning to power after the 1992 elections, Wingti declared he had wasted his time during his previous reign and that he would "make things happen" in PNG.

He took on the big mining companies, spent up big and tried to win a military victory in Bougainville.

But his support in Parliament evaporated in 1994. The previous year, Mr Wingti had come up with what seemed to be a new way to thwart PNG's regular Votes of No Confidence. He resigned in secret and then had a surprised Parliament re-elect him immediately. If valid it would have won him another 18 months in power free from challenge. But the Supreme Court declared the move unconstitutional ruling that MPs needed at least a day's notice before selecting a prime minister.

The incoming prime minister, Sir Julius Chan, claimed PNG was almost bankrupt and he devalued then floated the Kina.

Like Chan, Wingti was a casualty in the 1997 elections. But unlike Chan, he returned to Parliament in 2002.