Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is the sixth and current
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
of the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
, serving since 24 April 2019. He previously held the office in 2000–2001, 2006—2007 and 2014–2017; in all he has served over nine years as prime minister. Before becoming prime minister, Sogavare served in the
National Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
, was born in
Popondetta
Popondetta (sometimes spelled Popondota) is the capital of Oro (Northern) Province in Papua New Guinea. Popondetta is a city.
In 1951 the city became the focus of relief efforts after nearby Mount Lamington erupted and killed 4,000 people.
...
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
on 17 January 1955 to missionary parents from
Choiseul Island
Choiseul Island, native name Lauru, is the largest island () of the Choiseul Province, Solomon Islands, at . The administrative headquarters of Choiseul Province is situated in the town of Taro, on Taro Island.
History
In 1768, the French expl ...
,
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
. He has four older brothers: Moses, Samson, John and Jacob. Later in life, Manasseh and his older brother Jacob moved to the Solomon Islands.
Political career
Early career
Sogavare was Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance from February 1994 to October 1996. Prior to his election to Parliament, he served as the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Director of the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands, and Chairman of the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund. He was first elected to the National Parliament from the East Choiseul constituency in the 6 August 1997 election.
Under Prime Minister
Bartholomew Ulufa'alu
Bartholomew (Bart) Ulufa'alu (25 December 1950 – 25 May 2007) was the fifth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 27 August 1997 to 30 June 2000.Minister for Finance and Treasury in 1997 but was dismissed from that post by Ulufa'alu in mid-July 1998. Sogavare said that he was shocked at the dismissal, as he could see no reason for it and no reason was given, and he demanded an explanation. A few days later, Ulufa'alu said that the decision was motivated by the need for the government to keep the numbers to stay in power. In early August 1998, Sogavare withdrew his support for Ulufa'alu and his government, accusing Ulufa'alu of authoritarian and hypocritical leadership and of emphasizing stability only to protect himself.
Sogavare was chosen as deputy leader of the opposition in late September 1998, with
Solomon Mamaloni
Solomon Sunaone Mamaloni (23 January 1943 – 11 January 2000) was a Solomon Islands politician. He was the first Chief Minister of the islands, and later served as Prime Minister for three spells in the 1980s and 1990s.
Biography
Mamaloni was ...
as leader. Following Mamaloni's death in January 2000, Sogavare was elected as leader of the opposition later that month. He received the votes of all ten members of the opposition who were present.
Prime Minister (2000–2001)
Sogavare was elected as Prime Minister by parliament on 30 June 2000, with 23 votes in favor and 21 against, after Ulufa'alu was captured by rebels and forced to resign. He served as Prime Minister until 17 December 2001.
Out of office (2001–2006)
His party won only three seats in the 2001 general election, but Sogavare was re-elected to his seat in Parliament.
In Parliament, Sogavare was a member of the Bills and Legislation Committee in 2002 and again from 2005 to April 2006.
Following the 2006 general election, Sogavare led the
Solomon Islands Social Credit Party
The Solomon Islands Social Credit Party ("Socreds") is a political party in the Solomon Islands that espouses social credit theories of monetary reform.
It is led by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, previously leader of the People's Progressive ...
into a coalition to oust Prime Minister Allan Kemakeza's chosen successor
Fred Fono
Fred Iro Fono (10 October 1962 – 26 December 2011) was a Solomon Islands politician, serving as the country's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Rural Development and Indigenous Affairs from December 2007 to August 2010.
, who received 22 votes. Sogavare was immediately sworn in. His main tasks included organizing the recovery from rioting that took place during Rini's time as Prime Minister.
On 11 October 2006, Sogavare survived a no-confidence vote in parliament; the motion, introduced by Fono, was supported by 17 members of parliament, while 28 voted against it. The no-confidence vote was prompted by deteriorating relations with Australia. Sogavare had expelled the Australian High Commissioner Patrick Cole in September and defended the Solomons' suspended attorney general, Julian Moti, who Australia wanted extradited to face child sex charges there. Moti presently faces charges in the Solomons for illegally entering the country. On 13 October, Sogavare threatened to expel Australia from an assistance mission in the Solomons, and a week later Australian peacekeepers from the
Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands
The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), also known as Operation Helpem Fren, Operation Anode and Operation Rata (by New Zealand), was created in 2003 in response to a request for international aid by the Governor-General of ...
raided Sogavare's office (when he was not present) looking for evidence related to the Moti case.
On 13 December 2007, Sogavare was defeated in a parliamentary vote of no confidence; the motion against him received 25 votes, with 22 in opposition. He remained in office in a caretaker capacity until the election of a new Prime Minister on 20 December, when opposition candidate
Patteson Oti
John Patteson Oti, sometimes called Patterson Oti (born 17 January 1956), is a Solomon Islands politician and diplomat. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs, External Trade and Immigration from May 2006 to 22 December 2007. He is the secretary gene ...
who had been Foreign Minister under Sogavare. On the same date, Sogavare became Leader of the Opposition.
Leader of the Opposition (2007–2014)
In 2010, Sogavare and eight other MPs established the
Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party
The Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party (or Our Party) is a political party in the Solomon Islands.
The party was established on 16 January 2010 (and officially launched a month later) by the leader of the Opposition (and former Prime Minis ...
Following the 19 November, 2014 general election, Sogavere became Prime Minister for the third time. On 22 September 2017 Sogavare spoke at the
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
. He condemned
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
for their testing of
ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
s. He also condemned Indonesia for violence in West Papua. On 7 November 2017, seventeen members of his Democratic Coalition for Change voted against him in another motion of no-confidence. The lawmaker who submitted the motion of no confidence,
, claimed that Sogavere had lost touch with reality and become fixated on conspiracy theories, while Sogavere attributed the defections to a proposed anti-graft bill, saying that some MPs were afraid it would lead to them being imprisoned. Sogavere remained as Acting Prime Minister until Rick Houenipwela was elected on 15 November 2017.
Prime Minister (fourth term, 2019–present)
On 24 April 2019, he was once again elected Prime Minister with more than half the vote. There is controversy surrounding this election since a court issued an injunction just before the vote was to begin. After Sogavare was re-elected there was rioting in Honiara forcing shops and offices to close. Additionally, rioters did damage to the Pacific Casino Hotel which was used by Sogavare as his campaign headquarters.
On 16 September 2019, Sogavare's government recognised the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, switching recognition from the Republic of China after 36 years. In a statement Sogavare announced the decision as representing an advance of Solomon Islands national interests, an outcome of a bi-partisan taskforce to investigate and confirm the facts surrounding the 'One China Principle', and reporting by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade. Responding to questions about caucus unity on the decision, Sogavare presented it as "a collective agreement agreed to by all the Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement (DCGA) coalition MPs elected into the 11th parliament, conducted in a very open and transparent manner as far as government caucus is concerned". The decision caused significant political and public debate in Solomon Islands. In the wake of the decision and in light of their abstaining from the parliamentary vote, several members of parliament were removed by Sogavare. Planning Minister and former Prime Minister Rick Hou claimed Sogavare lied about the process, claiming the decision was pre-determined. Hou was sacked by Sogavare on the week of 27 September, Sogavare claiming Hou had tried to bribe MPs. Deputy Prime Minister John Maneniaru and Education Minister Dean Kuku were terminated, with Police Minister Lanelle Tanagada opting to resign.
Malaita Province
Malaita Province is the most populous and one of the largest of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. It is named after its largest island, Malaita (also known as "Big Malaita" or "Maramapaina"). Other islands include South Malaita Island (a ...
, however, continued to be supported by Taiwan and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, the latter sending US$25 million of aid to the island in 2020. The premier of Malaita Province, Daniel Suidani, also held an independence referendum in 2020 which the national government has dismissed as illegitimate.
Riots broke out in November 2021 during which anti-government protesters, most of them from Malaita Province, burnt down buildings adjoining the
Solomon Islands Parliament Building
The Solomon Islands Parliament Building in Honiara is the seat of the National Parliament of Solomon Islands.
History
From 1978 to 1994, Parliament met at 'Kalala House', which now houses the High Court. The parliamentary building was built as ...
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
and Fiji also sent peacekeepers.
On 6 December 2021, he survived a
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...
in the
National Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
.
Church dedication
Sogavare dedicated the Sogavare Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church in memory of his father Sagavare Loko.