Dame Meg Taylor DBE is one of the Pacific’s most distinguished statespeople, lawyers, and advocates for international law, ocean governance, and sustainable development.
A Papua New Guinean national, Dame Meg’s career spans more than five decades of public service at the highest levels of national and international governance. She began her career as Private Secretary to Papua New Guinea’s first Chief Minister and later Prime Minister, Michael Somare, before going on to serve as a lawyer with the Public Solicitor’s Office, the Law Reform Commission, and in private legal practice.
From 1989 to 1994, she served as Papua New Guinea’s Ambassador to the United States, accredited to Mexico and Canada. She then became the founding Vice President of the Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman for the World Bank Group, a role she held from 1998 to 2014. From 2014 to 2021, Dame Meg served as Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum — the first woman ever to hold this position — and concurrently served as Pacific Oceans Commissioner.
Dame Meg currently serves as a Member of the Eminent Persons Group advising on Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Policy White Paper, a Member of the Pacific Elders Voice, and a Non-Resident Distinguished Fellow for the Blue Pacific at the Asia Society Policy Institute. She is an Advisor with Blue Ocean Law on ICJ and climate change matters, and has served on the International Advisory Panel of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the United Nations High Level Steering Committee on Every Woman Every Child.
Dame Meg holds a law degree from the University of Papua New Guinea, an LLB from the University of Melbourne, and an LLM from Harvard University.
