Prime Minister of Solomon Islands explained

Post:Prime Minister
Body:Solomon Islands
Insignia:Coat of arms of the Solomon Islands.svg
Insigniasize:125px
Insigniacaption:Coat of Arms of Solomon Islands
Incumbent:Jeremiah Manele
Incumbentsince:2 May 2024
Residence:Red House, Honiara
Appointer:Elected by the members of Parliament
Termlength:Until next election
Salary:143,000 SBD/US$ 17,439 annually[1]
Formation:7 July 1978
Inaugural:Peter Kenilorea

The prime minister of Solomon Islands is Solomon Islands' head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the National Parliament. Since May 2024 Jeremiah Manele has been the prime minister of Solomon Islands.

Solomon Islands is a Commonwealth realm; the functions of the head of state are performed on behalf of the monarch of Solomon Islands by the governor-general of Solomon Islands, who is nominated by Parliament.

The prime minister's official residence is Red House in Honiara.

Constitutional basis

Section 33 of the constitution of Solomon Islands provides for the prime minister to be elected by the members of the national parliament. The other government ministers are appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister.[2]

The prime minister may be removed from office by the governor-general following a no-confidence motion passed by an absolute majority of the national parliament. The office is also vacated if the prime minister resigns, ceases to be a member of parliament, or is elected as speaker or deputy speaker. In the event of a vacancy, the governor-general, in consultation with cabinet, appoints one of the existing government ministers to act as prime minister until the national parliament can meet to fill the vacancy.[3]

Schedule 2 to the constitution outlines the process for election of the prime minister. All members of parliament are eligible for nomination, but must be nominated by at least four other members. The election is then held by secret ballot with the governor-general presiding. If a candidate fails to secure a majority of votes on the first ballot, an exhaustive ballot takes place with the candidate with the lowest number of votes eliminated on each ballot.[4]

List of officeholders

! rowspan="2" scope=col
PortraitName
ElectionTerm of officePolitical party
scope=colTook officescope=colLeft officescope=colTime in office
scope=row 1Peter Kenilorea
19807 July 197831 August 1981
scope=row 2Solomon Mamaloni
31 August 198119 November 1984
scope=row (1) Sir Peter Kenilorea
198419 November 19841 December 1986
scope=row 3Ezekiel Alebua
1 December 198628 March 1989
scope=row (2)Solomon Mamaloni
198928 March 198918 June 1993
scope=row 4Sir Francis Billy Hilly
199318 June 19937 November 1994
scope=row (2)Solomon Mamaloni
7 November 199427 August 1997
scope=row 5Bartholomew Ulufa'alu
199727 August 199730 June 2000
scope=row 6Manasseh Sogavare
30 June 200017 December 2001
scope=row 7Allan Kemakeza
200117 December 200120 April 2006
scope=row 8Snyder Rini
200620 April 20064 May 2006
scope=row (6)Manasseh Sogavare
4 May 200620 December 2007
scope=row 9Derek Sikua
20 December 200725 August 2010
scope=row 10Danny Philip
201025 August 201016 November 2011
scope=row 11Gordon Darcy Lilo
16 November 20119 December 2014
scope=row (6) Manasseh Sogavare
20149 December 201415 November 2017
scope=row 12Rick Houenipwela
15 November 201724 April 2019
scope=row (6)Manasseh Sogavare
2019
24 April 20192 May 2024
scope=row 13Jeremiah Manele
2024
2 May 2024Incumbent

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parliament Entitlements Regulations, 2008 . Government of the Solomon Islands . 2019-06-29 . 2021-08-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210812195314/http://parliament.gov.sb/files/legislation/Parliamentary%20Entitlements%20Regulations%202008.pdf . dead .
  2. Book: Constitution of Solomon Islands. Constitute Project. Section 33. 11 June 2024.
  3. Book: Constitution of Solomon Islands. Constitute Project. Section 34. 11 June 2024.
  4. Book: Constitution of Solomon Islands. Constitute Project. Schedule 2. 11 June 2024.