| Country name: |
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Solomon Islands
former:
British Solomon Islands
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| Government type: |
parliamentary democracy
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| 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)
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| National holiday: |
Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
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| Constitution: |
7 July 1978
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| Legal system: |
English common law
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| 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
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| 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
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| Judicial branch: |
Court of Appeal
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| 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]
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| Political pressure groups and leaders: |
NA
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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