Rick Houenipwela, more commonly known as Rick Hou, (born 8 August 1958)Biography
on the website of Parliament is a politician, and the immediate past

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 ...

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 ...

from 15 November 2017 to 24 April 2019. He has a Bachelor's degree in accounting, and served as the governor of the Central Bank of Solomon Islands from 1993 to 2008, before becoming Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

, and then going into politics. The ''Solomon Times'' described him as "one of the key public figures in the Solomon Islands whose credibility is intact, if not enhanced, after resisting corruption and several attempts by fraudsters to bankrupt the nation during the ethnic conflict" of the early 2000s."Hou Sworn in as Finance Minister"
''Solomon Times'', 22 November 2011 The magazine ''

Islands Business ''Islands Business'' is a "multimedia publishing company" established in the 1970s in Suva, Fiji. ABC Radio describes it as an "influential regional publication". With correspondents throughout Oceania, it describes itself as the "premier publis ...

'' named him "Man of the Year" for the Pacific region in 2003, at a time when he was Governor of the Central Bank. ABC Radio's Sean Dorney described him in 2011 as a critic of excessive exploitation of the country's forests, a modest man who had shown "strength ..over the years in standing up to those who have exploited the country. He took a courageous stand in defending the Central Bank from extortion in the face of considerable intimidation from those with the guns during the worst of the ethnic tensions". His career in national politics began when he was elected to

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 ...

as the member for Small Malaita in the August 2010 general election, standing as a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Party leader

Steve Abana Steve William Abana (born 1969 in Fourau, MalaitaBiography
on the website of the Parliament of Solomon Is ...

became Leader of the Opposition, and appointed Houenipwela Shadow Minister for Finance and the Treasury. In early April 2011, having been ousted from the leadership of the Opposition, Abana defected to Prime Minister

Danny Philip Danny Philip (born 5 August 1953) is a politician and diplomat from Solomon Islands. He was Prime Minister of Solomon Islands from 2010 to 2011. Previously he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996 and again from July 2000 to Ju ...

's government, bringing with him several members of the Opposition, including Houenipwela. The latter was appointed Minister for Public Service. In early November 2011, several ministers joined or rejoined the Opposition, ultimately bringing down the government. On November 9, three ministers returned to the Opposition. The following day, Rick Hou joined them. On the day after that, Prime Minister

sacked Finance Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo, reportedly for conspiring with the Opposition. Hours later, Philip announced his own resignation, as he clearly no longer had the numbers with which to govern. On November 16, Parliament chose Lilo to replace him. Lilo appointed Hou as his

Minister of Finance of the Solomon Islands The Ministry of Finance and Treasury is a government ministry of the Solomon Islands responsible for public finances. The ministry is located in Honiara. Ministers *Willie Betu, 1975-1976 *Benedict Kinika, 1976-1981 *Bartholomew Ulufa’alu, 19 ...

. Upon his appointment, Houenipwela told the ''

Solomon Star The ''Solomon Star'' is a Solomon Islands daily, English language

'' he would seek to exempt "low paid workers" from paying tax, while also "lower ngthe tax rates to enable companies to be profitable". There would be increased government support and investment in "productive sectors", including agriculture, tourism and fisheries. In April 2015, he took a stand in Parliament against members of Parliament being exempted from paying

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

. He stated that he would refuse his own tax exemption."Solomon Islands MP Rick Hou to refuse tax-free salary"
Radio Australia, 1 May 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houenipwela, Rick 1958 births Living people Finance Ministers of the Solomon Islands Prime Ministers of the Solomon Islands Members of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands People from Malaita Province Solomon Islands bankers