Prime Minister of Solomon Islands since 2024
Jeremiah Manele
(born 1968) is a Solomon Island politician serving as
Prime Minister
following the
2024 Solomon Islands general election
. He is the first prime minister of the country to come from
Isabel Province
.
[1]
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Manele grew up in the village of Samasodu on the island of
Santa Isabel.
[2]
His high school education began at an Anglican school, Selwyn Collge, in
Guadalcanal
, where he later taught, before completing his year 6 at King George VI School in
Honiara.
[3]
[4]
He studied for a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Public Administration at the
University of Papua New Guinea
, graduating in 1991.
[5]
He returned to studies briefly in 1995?96, completing post graduate work at the
University of Oxford
.
[5]
[2]
Civil service
[
edit
]
In the start of his career, Manele represented the
Solomon Islands
as a career diplomat.
[6]
[7]
He was appointed to diplomatic postings as Counsellor and later Charge d'Affaires of the Solomon Islands Permanent Mission to the
United Nations
in New York.
[6]
[8]
Afterwards, he held senior government positions, serving as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Development Planning, Secretary to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade.
[9]
[10]
He also served as Secretary to the Solomon Islands Government-RAMSI Intervention Taskforce.
[9]
Politics
[
edit
]
Manele was first elected to parliament in 2014, representing the division of Hograno-Kia-Havulei.
[11]
Following the election, the Solomon Islands People's Democratic Coalition, made up of the
Democratic Alliance
, the
Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement
(SIPRA) and the
People First Party
, nominated Manele for prime minister.
[12]
Manele was defeated in the 9 December parliamentary vote by Manasseh Sogavare, earning 19 votes to Sogavare's 31.
[13]
Early in his Parliamentary career, he was the leader of the opposition in the
10th Parliament of Solomon Islands
.
[14]
He later joined government benches, serving as the Minister for Development Planning and Aid Coordination (2017?2018).
[6]
He was re-elected in the
2019 general election
and served as the minister for development planning and aid coordination in the 11th Parliament.
[14]
[15]
Subsequently, Manele was made Minister of Foreign Affairs on 25 April 2019, travelling widely in the role.
[16]
[17]
Later that year, he travelled to Beijing to formalise relations between the Solomon Islands and the
People's Republic of China
.
[18]
In this role, Manele signed a security pact with China on 30 March 2022, though at the time, the details of the pact were not publicly known.
[19]
Prime Minister
[
edit
]
In the
2024 Solomon Islands general election
, Manele retained his seat under the banner of the
Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party
, though he had previously been affiliated with the
Democratic Alliance Party
.
[2]
[20]
The party was unable to form an outright majority, and could not form a working coalition under its existing leader,
Manasseh Sogavare
.
[21]
Following the election, OUR Party renewed alliances with the Kadere and People First parties, forming the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation.
[22]
Manele became OUR Party leader on 29 April, after Sogavare stepped down from role and declined to seek another term as prime minister.
[23]
In a secret parliamentary ballot for prime minister on 2 May, Manele won 31 votes, defeating
Matthew Wale
. That day, he was invited to form a government by Governor-General
David Vunagi
, and was sworn in as the prime minister.
[24]
[25]
He is described as China-friendly as he has pledged to continue the
Solomon Islands
' international policy that drew it closer to China.
[26]
At the time of becoming Prime Minister, Western analysts, such as Meg Keen at the
Lowy Institute
, assessed that Manele would be a "less fiery and combative leader for the West to manage but he will continue to pursue close relations with China".
[27]
[28]
Manele's cabinet was sworn in on three different ceremonies, with the first 11 assuming office on 4 May.
[29]
Manele appointed
Bradley Tovosia
deputy prime minister while Sogavare became finance minister.
[30]
[31]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Together with his wife Joycelyn, Manele has four daughters and two sons.
[2]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Baratheon, Robert (2 May 2024).
"Jeremiah Manele Elected Prime Minister of Solomon Islands"
.
OnlineWiki
.
Archived
from the original on 2 May 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"New, but capable"
.
Solomon Star News
. 7 December 2014.
Archived
from the original on 3 May 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
"Hon Jeremiah Manele | National Parliament of Solomon Islands"
.
www.parliament.gov.sb
.
Archived
from the original on 2 May 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
"Selwyn College unveils Golden Jubilee event"
.
theislandsun.com.sb
.
Archived
from the original on 3 May 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
a
b
"Jeremiah Manele is new Solomon Islands Prime Minister"
.
RNZ
. 2 May 2024.
Archived
from the original on 2 May 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Address by the Foreign Minister of Solomon Islands"
.
www.nziia.org.nz
.
Archived
from the original on 3 May 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
"WTO Trade for Peace"
(PDF)
. November 2020.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 30 April 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
"Solomon Islands Pro-China PM Says Not Standing For New Term"
.
Barron's
.
Archived
from the original on 29 April 2024
. Retrieved
4 May
2024
.
- ^
a
b
"Asia-Pacific Regional Review Meeting on the Implementation of the Istanbul Programme"
(PDF)
. United Nations. August 2021.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 4 November 2021
. Retrieved
3 May
2024
.
- ^
"Contact Information for Solomon Islands"
. PACREIP. 2006.
Archived
from the original on 6 August 2007
. Retrieved
30 March
2007
.
- ^
"Alphabetical Listing of Members of the 10th Parliament | National Parliament of Solomon Islands"
.
www.parliament.gov.sb
.
Archived
from the original on 3 May 2024
. Retrieved
3 May
2024
.
- ^
"Manele: I'm humbled by my nomination"
.
Solomon Star
. 7 December 2014.
Archived
from the original on 8 February 2023
. Retrieved
8 May
2024
.
- ^
Kando, Tony (9 December 2014).
"Sogavare Elected Prime Minister"
.
Solomon Times
.
Archived
from the original on 3 December 2023
. Retrieved
8 May
2024
.
- ^
a
b
Komai, Makereta, ed. (2 May 2024).
"Jeremiah Manele is the new Prime Minister of Solomon Islands | PINA"
.
Archived
from the original on 2 May 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
"Members of the Current Parliament (11th Parliament) | National Parliament of Solomon Islands"
.
www.parliament.gov.sb
.
Archived
from the original on 3 May 2024
. Retrieved
3 May
2024
.
- ^
"FIVE MORE MINISTERS SWORN-IN"
.
Solomon Islands Embassy
.
Archived
from the original on 3 May 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
"Government House officially commissions H.E Barrett Salato as Ambassador of Solomon Islands to PRC. ? Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC)"
. 12 December 2023.
Archived
from the original on 18 March 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
Needham, Kirsty (3 May 2024).
"Solomon Islands picks China-friendly Manele as new prime minister"
.
Reuters
.
- ^
"Churches remain silent on Sino-SI security pact"
.
theislandsun.com.sb
.
Archived
from the original on 4 June 2023
. Retrieved
4 May
2024
.
- ^
"China-friendly foreign minister Manele becomes Solomon Islands PM"
.
Kyodo News+
.
Archived
from the original on 3 May 2024
. Retrieved
3 May
2024
.
- ^
"Solomon Islands pro-China PM Manasseh Sogavare fails to secure majority"
.
Al Jazeera
.
Archived
from the original on 24 April 2024
. Retrieved
3 May
2024
.
- ^
Hawkins, Koroi (30 April 2024).
"Manasseh Sogavare bows out of prime ministerial race in Solomon Islands"
.
Radio New Zealand
.
Archived
from the original on 29 April 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
Kusu, Fredrick (29 April 2024).
"Coalition for National Unity and Transformation nominates Jeremiah Manele as PM Candidate"
.
Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation
.
Archived
from the original on 29 April 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
Hawkins, Koroi (2 May 2024).
"Jeremiah Manele is new Solomon Islands Prime Minister"
.
Radio New Zealand
.
Archived
from the original on 2 May 2024
. Retrieved
3 May
2024
.
- ^
"Jeremiah Manele elected prime minister in Solomon Islands, which is likely to keep close China ties"
.
Washington Post
. 2 May 2024.
ISSN
0190-8286
.
Archived
from the original on 3 May 2024
. Retrieved
3 May
2024
.
- ^
Needham, Kirsty (2 May 2024).
"Solomon Islands picks China-friendly Manele as new prime minister"
.
Reuters
. Sydney
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
"Solomon Islands lawmakers elect former foreign minister as new prime minister"
.
Oxford Mail
. 2 May 2024.
Archived
from the original on 2 May 2024
. Retrieved
2 May
2024
.
- ^
"Why the Solomon Islands election matters to China and the U.S."
washingtonpost
.
Archived
from the original on 2 May 2024
. Retrieved
4 May
2024
.
- ^
"New Ministers Sworn In"
.
Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation
. 4 May 2024.
Archived
from the original on 6 May 2024
. Retrieved
8 May
2024
.
- ^
"Nine more Ministers sworn-in"
.
Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation
. 6 May 2024.
Archived
from the original on 7 May 2024
. Retrieved
8 May
2024
.
- ^
"DPM and two more ministers sworn-in"
.
Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation
. 7 May 2024.
Archived
from the original on 8 May 2024
. Retrieved
8 May
2024
.
|
---|
Africa
| |
---|
Asia
| |
---|
Europe
| |
---|
North America
| |
---|
South America
| |
---|
Oceania
| |
---|