Peter Kenilorea
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Sir Peter Kenilorea (23 May 1943 – 24 February 2016) was a Solomon Islander politician, officially styled The Rt Hon. Sir Peter Kenilorea as a member of the
Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are curre ...
. He was the first prime minister of an independent Solomon Islands, from 1978–1981, and also served a second term from 1984–1986.


Early life and education

Kenilorea was born in Takataka village on
Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...
island, of ꞌAreꞌare ethnicity. Kenilorea attended school in Malaita and
Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lies ...
. He then received a scholarship to study in New Zealand, where he attended Wesley College, Whanganui Collegiate School, and Ardmore College. He trained to be a teach while at Ardmore, and he began work as a schoolteacher after returning to Malaita. He was trained as a teacher for the South Seas Evangelical Church and a co-founder of the Solomon Islands Christian Association. Kenilorea had a wife, Margaret, and had seven or eight children.


Political career

Kenilorea got involved in politics and became a founding member of the Solomon Islands United Party. In the 1973 general elections he ran in the ꞌAreꞌare constituency, losing to David Kausimae. He was asked to start a campaign in the 1976 election to be the representative for his district in Malaita. When Kenilorea asked who else was in consideration, he was informed that all six of the other potential candidates withdrew so he could run. He was elected to
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 ...
in the East ꞌAreꞌare constituency. As the then
British Solomon Islands The British Solomon Islands Protectorate was first established in June 1893, when Captain Herbert Gibson of declared the southern Solomon Islands a British protectorate.''Commonwealth and Colonial Law'' by Kenneth Roberts-Wray, London, S ...
protectorate developed a serious movement to declare independence from the United Kingdom, Kenilorea became the colonial administration's chief minister and a major figure of the independence movement. Kenilorea was critical of British rule over the Solomon Islands, alleging that it failed to advance the nation economically and condemning it for building only one school. He was involved in the independence negotiations that took place in London. After the protectorate became an independent country in 1978, Kenilorea became the first Prime Minister of Solomon Islands. The country had yet to develop a distinct national identity, and he found himself with the duties of a cultural leader as well as a political one. He was only 35 years old when he took office, in a nation which traditionally associated leadership with elders. He reconciled this with his belief that traditional leadership could exist among the people but that national leadership should be run by the well-educated. Under Kenilorea's leadership, the United Party held its plurality with 16 seats in the National Parliament after the 1980 election. The Independent Group and its 15 seats also supported Kenilorea, allowing for his re-election as prime minister. The opposition leader
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 the prime minister for three spells in the 1980s and 1990s. Biography Mamaloni ...
began raising policy issues that would cause disputes between the United Party and the independents. By 1981, the six independents that had been appointed to Kenilorea's government resigned their posts. That October, Kenilorea's government was dissolved after a
motion of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
. Mamaloni succeeded Kenilorea as prime minister. Kenilorea returned as prime minister after the 1984 election, with 21 members of the National Parliament supporting for him and only 13 supporting Mamaloni. As prime minister, he organised the nation's provincial system of government and passed tribal land rights into law. Kenilorea served as prime minister until 1986. He resigned after being implicated in a financial scandal, and he was succeeded by his Deputy Prime Minister, Ezekiel Alebua. Kenilorea then became
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
, serving in this role from 1988 to 1989 and from 1990 to 1993. When ethnic conflict broke out between two militant groups, the Malaita Eagle Force and the Isatabu Freedom Movement, Kenilorea was one of the leaders of peace talks in 2000. He was seen as a unifying figure who had the respect of both groups. Along with Paul Tovua, he became co-chairman of the peace talks."Solomon Islands: Cease-fire monitoring group appointed", Solomon Islands Ministry of Commerce web site (nl.newsbank.com), August 4, 2000. He then became chairman of the Peace Monitoring Council. From 2001 to 2010, Kenilorea was the Speaker of Parliament. He was a candidate for the post of
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, ...
in mid-June 2004, but he received only 8 of 41 votes in Parliament, placing second behind Nathaniel Waena, who received 27 votes. He subsequently sought to return to the National Parliament and was an unsuccessful candidate in a by-election in East ꞌAreꞌare in August 2012."Governor General Congratulates New Parlimentarians"
''Solomon Times'', 7 August 2012


Death and legacy

Kenilorea died on 24 February 2016 following a period of illness. His funeral was held in Honiara on 1 March, which was made a special public holiday as a national day of mourning. His body was lain in state in the parliament. Kenilorea is recognised as the founding father of Solomon Islands. Kenilorea's son Peter Kenilorea Jr. was elected a member of parliament in April 2019.


References


External links


"Realising political stability"
Transcript of Sir Peter Kenilorea's opening address at a conference on "Political Parties and Integrity Reform",
Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lies ...
, August 30, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenilorea, Peter 1943 births 2016 deaths Prime ministers of the Solomon Islands Leaders of the opposition (Solomon Islands) People from Malaita Province Speakers of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands Members of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Solomon Islands United Party politicians Solomon Islands Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire