Government
Type: Parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth.
Constitution: May 1978.
Independence: July 7, 1978.
Branches: Executive--British monarch represented by a governor general (head of state); prime minister (head of government). Legislative--50-member Parliament elected every 4 years. Judicial--high court plus magistrates court; system of custom land courts throughout islands.
Subdivisions: Nine provinces and Honiara town.
Political parties: Association of Independent Members (AIM), People's Alliance Party (PAP), Socred, Rural Advancement Party (RAP), Lafari Party, Christian Alliance Party, Democratic Party, National Party, Liberal Party, Labour Party.
Suffrage: Universal over 18.
National holiday: July 7.

SOLOMON ISLANDS GOVERNMENT
The Solomon Islands is a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth, with a unicameral Parliament and a ministerial system of government. The British monarch is represented by a governor general, chosen by the Parliament for a 5-year term. The national Parliament has 50 members, elected for 4-year terms. However, Parliament may be dissolved by majority vote of its members before the completion of its term. Parliamentary representation is based on single-member constituencies. Suffrage is universal for citizens over age 18. The prime minister, elected by Parliament, chooses the other members of the cabinet. Each ministry is headed by a cabinet member, who is assisted by a permanent secretary, a career public servant, who directs the staff of the ministry.

For local government, the country is divided into 10 administrative areas, of which nine are provinces administered by elected provincial assemblies, and the 10th is the town of Honiara, administered by the Honiara Town Council.

Land ownership is reserved for Solomon Islanders. At the time of independence, citizenship was granted to all persons whose parents are or were both British protected persons and members of a group, tribe, or line indigenous to the Solomon Islands. The law provides that resident expatriates, such as the Chinese and Kiribati, may obtain citizenship through naturalization. Land generally is still held on a family or village basis and may be handed down from mother or father according to local custom. The islanders are reluctant to provide land for nontraditional economic undertakings, and this has resulted in continual disputes over land ownership.

No military forces are maintained by the Solomon Islands, although the police force of nearly 500 includes a border protection element. The police also have responsibility for fire service, disaster relief, and maritime surveillance. The police force is headed by a commissioner, appointed by the Governor General and responsible to the prime minister. A new acting commissioner, Walter Kola (a Solomon Islands citizen), was appointed in March 2007. The Solomon Islands Government declared the prior commissioner, Shane Castles (an Australian citizen), an undesirable immigrant in December 2006.

SOLOMON ISLANDS POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Solomon Islands governments are characterized by weak political parties and highly unstable parliamentary coalitions. They are subject to frequent votes of no confidence, and government leadership changes frequently as a result. Cabinet changes are common.

The first post-independence government was elected in August 1980. Prime Minister Peter Kenilorea was head of government until September 1981, when he was succeeded by Solomon Mamaloni as the result of a realignment within the parliamentary coalitions. Following the November 1984 elections, Kenilorea was again elected Prime Minister, to be replaced in 1986 by his former deputy Ezekiel Alebua following shifts within the parliamentary coalitions. The next election, held in early 1989, returned Solomon Mamaloni as Prime Minister. Francis Billy Hilly was elected Prime Minister following the national elections in June 1993, and headed the government until November 1994 when a shift in parliamentary loyalties brought Solomon Mamaloni back to power.

The national election of August 6, 1997 resulted in Bartholomew Ulufa'alu's election as Prime Minister, heading a coalition government, which christened itself the Solomon Islands Alliance for Change.

However, governance was slipping as the performance of the police and other government agencies deteriorated due to ethnic rivalries. The capital of Honiara on Guadalcanal was increasingly populated by migrants from the island of Malaita. In June 2000, an insurrection mounted by militants from the island of Malaita resulted in the brief detention of Ulufa'alu and his subsequent forced resignation. Manasseh Sogavare, leader of the People's Progressive Party, was chosen Prime Minister by a loose coalition of parties. Guadalcanal militants retaliated and sought to drive Malaitan settlers from Guadalcanal, resulting in the closure of a large oil-palm estate and gold mine which were vital to exports but whose workforce was largely Malaitan.

New elections in December 2001 brought Sir Allan Kemakeza into the Prime Minister's chair with the support of a coalition of parties.

Kemakeza attempted to address the deteriorating law and order situation in the country, but the prevailing atmosphere of lawlessness, widespread extortion, and ineffective police, prompted a formal request by the Solomon Islands Government for outside help. With the country bankrupt and the capital in chaos, the request was unanimously supported in Parliament. In July 2003, Australian and Pacific Island police and troops arrived in the Solomon Islands under the auspices of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI).

RAMSI is largely a policing effort with an important development component. It has restored order to virtually all parts of the nation and is now embarked on rebuilding government institutions, particularly the police, and reviving the economy, which fell by at least a third during the troubles. The effort promises to take many years and Solomon Islands will continue to require substantial donor support. Moreover, as militants, former police, and political leaders are brought to trial for their crimes during the unrest, some local resentment is likely to cut somewhat into the now-widespread support for the intervention.

The peace has proven to be fragile. Fierce rioting occurred soon after the April 2006 general election and the election of Snyder Rini as Prime Minister in mid-April. Most of the violence was directed against businesses owned by ethnic Chinese in Honiara, with the almost complete destruction of the Chinatown commercial district. Mr. Rini resigned shortly after the riots, and a parliamentary vote saw Manasseh Sogavare elected as the new Prime Minister in May 2006.

Principal Government Officials
Governor General--Sir Nathaniel Waena
Prime Minister--Manasseh Sogavare
Minister for Foreign Affairs--Patterson Oti

The Solomon Islands mission to the United Nations is located at 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, New York 10017 (tel: 212-599-6192/93; fax: 212-661-8925).