Short facts about the government of Solomon Islands
| Country
name: |
conventional long
form: none
conventional short form:
Solomon Islands
former: British Solomon
Islands |
| Government
type: |
parliamentary
democracy |
| Administrative divisions: |
7 provinces and 1 town*; Central,
Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western; note - there
may be two new provinces of Choiseul (Lauru) and Rennell/Bellona and the
administrative unit of Honiara may have been
abolished |
| Independence: |
7 July 1978 (from
UK) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day, 7 July
(1978) |
| Constitution: |
7 July
1978 |
| Legal
system: |
English common
law |
| Suffrage: |
21 years of age;
universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor
General Father John LAPLI (since NA 1999)
head of government:
Prime Minister Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE (since 1 July 2000); Assistant Prime
Minister Nathaniel WAENA (since 1 July 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Allan
KEMAKEZA (since 1 July 2000); note - Prime Minister Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU was
forced to resign his position in June 2000 following the armed takeover of the
capital by elements supporting the opposition parties; Mannaseh Damukana
SOGAVARE, who had been opposition leader, was then elected prime minister at a
sitting of National Parliament on 30 June 2000
cabinet: Cabinet
appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among
the members of Parliament
elections: none; the monarch is
hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of
Parliament for up to five years; following legislative elections, the leader of
the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected
prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor
general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of
Parliament |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral National Parliament (50
seats; members elected from single member constituencies by popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 August 1997 (next
to be held by August 2001)
election results: percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - GNUR 21, PAP 7, NAPSI 5, SILP 4, UP 4,
independents 6, other 3 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Court of
Appeal |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
there are two main coalitions -
Coalition for National Unity, Reconciliation, and Peace or CNURP and Alliance
for Change; the CNURP took power on 30 June 2000, it comprises members of the
Liberal Party, People's Alliance Party, and the United Party, as well as a
number of independents; the Alliance for Change, represents the former
government and now is the opposition; in general, Solomon Islands politics is
characterized by fluid coalitions; Group for National Unity and Reconciliation
or GNUR [leader NA]; Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; National Action
Party of Solomon Islands or NAPSI [Francis SAEMALA]; People's Alliance Party or
PAP [George LEPPING]; People's Progressive Party [Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE];
Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP [Joses TUHANUKU]; United Party or UP [leader
NA] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International organization participation: |
ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD,
ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user),
IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO,
WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Jeremiah
MANELE
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY
10017
telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193
FAX: [1]
(212) 661-8925 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
the US does not have an embassy in
Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea
is accredited to the Solomon Islands |
| Flag
description: |
divided diagonally by a thin yellow
stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue
with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle
is green | Source: World Factbook |
