Nagaland’s senior most legislator and incumbent Advisor from 43 Tapi AC Noke Wangnao passed away on Monday morning in Dimapur.
Wangnao breathed his last at the Christian Institute of Health Sciences & Research (CIHSR) in Dimapur, due to cardiac arrest. He was 87 and survived by his wife and six children, two sons and four daughters.
He was serving as the Advisor for the Nagaland Social Welfare Department.
A state funeral was accorded to Late Wangnao at his private residence in Dimapur. A host of leaders, including Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Deputy CM Y. Patton, Assembly Speaker Sharingain Longkumer and NDPP president Chingwang Konyak, fellow legislators and members of civil society organisations paid him their last tributes.
His mortal remains will be taken to Mon where the last rites will be performed.
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Late Noke Wangnao, prior to entering the political arena, served as an Assistant Teacher in Government High School (GHS) Mon in 1973. He was also active in the society and had served in the Konyak Students’ Union in the capacity of a Finance Secretary from 1968-72 and was also an Advisor to KSU.
Late Wangnao entered politics in 1974 and contested the general elections as a UDF candidate from 43 Tapi AC which he won, becoming a member of the 3rd Nagaland Legislative Assembly. In 1977, he was re-elected to the 4th Nagaland Legislative Assembly from NNDP Party and was appointed as Minister of State for PWD, Forest and Social Welfare. Later, his role was elevated to Cabinet Minister from 18 April 1978 to17 April 1980 with additional portfolios of Art & Culture and Cooperatives.
In 1982, he was re-elected to the 5th Nagaland Legislative Assembly on NNDP Party ticket from the same Constituency; late Noke was again elected to the 6 Nagaland Legislative Assembly on NNDP Party ticket from the same Constituency in 1987; re-elected to the 7th Nagaland Legislative Assembly on NPC Party ticket and was appointed as Minister for Works & Housing in 1989; in 1993, he contested to the 8th Nagaland Legislative Assembly Election from NPC ticket and lost for the first time after five continuous terms.
In 1998, late Wangnao re-contested and got elected again into the 9th Legislative Assembly from NPC Party ticket and was also re-elected into the 10th Nagaland Legislative Assembly in 2003 from NPF Party ticket. He met with his second loss in his political career when in 2008 he contested in the 11th Assembly Elections in 2008 from the same NPF Party ticket but lost. He again contested to the 12th Nagaland Legislative Assembly Election on NPF Party ticket from the same Constituency in 2013 and on winning he was appointed as Minister for PHED on 5th March 2013.
Late Noke Wangnao later got re-elected to the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly from the same Constituency on Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) Party ticket in the election held on 27 February 2018 and appointed as Advisor for Social Welfare and Home Guards & Civil Defence. He was re-elected to the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly from the same Constituency on NDPP ticket in the 2023 general election and was appointed as Advisor for Social Welfare department.
