The Leader of the Independent Members, also referred to as Leader of the Independent Group, is a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

National Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

who is officially recognised as leader of a group of MPs who are aligned neither with the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

nor with the

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

. The position is established by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of 1978, which has been in force since the country's independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Article 66 of the Constitution creates the functions of

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

and Leader of the Independent Members, which are separate. (While "

" is a position found throughout the

Commonwealth realm A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the re ...

s, "Leader of the Independent Members" is specific to Solomon Islands.) Both are officially appointed by the

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, who appoints as Leader the Member of Parliament recognised as such by the Opposition, or by unaligned Members, respectively. The Governor-General may dismiss the Leader of the Independent Members if it appears he no longer enjoys the support of those members. The Leader of the Independent Members has no specific, constitutionally defined functions. The following have served as Leader of the Independent Members: * Daniel Enele Kwanairara from May 2006 to December 13, 2007, and

Peter Shanel Agovaka Peter Shannel Agovaka (born 1 November 1959Biography
on the website of the Parliament of Solomon Islands< ...

from January 2008 to September 25, 2008. Both served during the Eighth Parliament, and neither was a member of any political party. * Clay Forau became Leader of the Independent Members on August 30, 2010, following the 2010 general election. He was thus the first holder of that post in the Ninth Parliament. He is a member of the People's Federation Party. In early April 2011, however, he left the position to join the ranks of the government. *

Manasseh Maelanga Manasseh Maelanga (born March 25, 1970) is a member of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands. He represents East Malaita constituency. In May 2009, he was named Minister for Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening in Pr ...

, MP for East Malaita, was elected Leader of the Independent Members on 17 December 2014, following the 2014 general election."New Speaker Elected"
''Solomon Times'', 17 December 2014

References

{{reflist 1 Independent politicians of the Solomon Islands Technical parliamentary groups

See also

References