Sela Molisa (15 December 1950 – 21 August 2022) was a Vanuatuan politician, who was a member of the

Parliament of Vanuatu The Parliament of Vanuatu (; ) is the unicameral legislative body of the Republic of Vanuatu. It was established by chapter 4 of the 1980 Constitution, upon Vanuatu's independence from France and the United Kingdom. The functioning of Parlia ...

from 1982 to 2012,"Vanuatu MP to monitor charter"
''Fiji Times'', 12 June 2008 and occupied several cabinet posts in the government during his career, including four mandates as the

minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

Education

Molisa attended a British colonial secondary school in what was then the

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium () and named after the Hebrides in Scotland, was the colonial name for the island group in the South Pacific Ocean that is now Vanuatu. Native people had inhabited the islands for three th ...

from 1966 to 1970, before studying at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

, Dominion of Fiji from 1971 to 1973. He then studied at the

Fiji School of Medicine The Fiji School of Medicine is a tertiary institution based in Suva, Fiji. Originally established in 1885 as the ''Suva Medical School''. FSM became the College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences as part of Fiji National University in 2010. It ...

in 1974.Biography of Sela Molisa
on the website of the Parliament of Vanuatu

Career

Molisa was a Member of

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 ...

from 1982 to 2012, representing two constituencies in his home island of

Espiritu Santo Espiritu Santo (, ; ) is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of and a population of around 40,000 according to the 2009 census. Geography The island belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region ...

. He served as Minister of Home Affairs in 1983; as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1987; as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

from 1987 to 1991; as Minister of Trade, Commerce and Industry in 1996; as

again from 1998 to 1999; as Minister of Lands and Natural Resources from 2001 to 2002; and as

thrice more from 2002 to 2004 and from 2008 to 2010 and from 2011 to 2012. Each time he held the position of Minister of Finance, he was also Governor of the

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...

, the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

and the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

. In the late 1980s, as Foreign Minister, he oversaw a commercial fishing agreement with the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. As Minister of Finance, he oversaw the removing of Vanuatu from the OECD List of Uncooperative Tax Havens. He also sought to encourage the use of

coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut fat) is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around , and a clear thin liquid oil at higher temperatures. Unrefined varieties have a disti ...

, derived from Vanuatu-produced

copra Copra (from ; ; ; ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted ...

, to fuel automobiles so as to reduce the country's dependence on imported oil. In March 2006, Molisa accused Ham Lini's government of indecisiveness on a number of issues, and attempted to replace him as prime minister though 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 ...

in Parliament. Molisa was supported by the Green Confederation, the

Melanesian Progressive Party The Melanesian Progressive Party is a political party in Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, ...

and the Union of Moderate Parties, but the motion failed. In June 2008, Molisa became chairman of the independent monitoring group tasked with overseeing the preparation of the Republic of the Fiji Islands'

People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress The People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress (initially, People's Charter for Change and Progress) was a proposed legal document which would have complemented the 1997 Constitution of Fiji. It would have established compulsory guidelines f ...

. In September 2008, he was appointed Finance Minister once more, but lost his post on 2 December 2010 when the Natapei government was ousted in a motion of no confidence, and he sat on the opposition benches for the next four months. On 24 April 2011, new Prime Minister Sato Kilman was himself ousted in a motion of no confidence, and succeeded by Serge Vohor. Vohor appointed Molisa as his Minister of Trade; three weeks later, however, Vohor's election and premiership were voided by the Court of Appeal, and Molisa lost his position in government. On 16 June, Kilman's election and premiership were themselves voided by the Supreme Court, on constitutional grounds, and previous Prime Minister

Edward Natapei Edward Nipake Natapei Tuta Fanua`araki (17 July 1954 – 28 July 2015) was a Vanuatuan politician. He was the prime minister of Vanuatu on two occasions, and was previously the minister of Foreign Affairs briefly in 1991, the acting president of ...

became caretaker Prime Minister until a new leader could be elected. Molisa was restored as caretaker Minister of Trade. He later served as Ambassador of Vanuatu to the

People’s Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...

from 2014 to 2015. Sela Molisa was married to Grace Mera Molisa, an influential politician and poet who died in 2002. They were married in 1976, and both took part in preparing the Constitution of Vanuatu."Voice of Vanuatu's women"
University of the South Pacific

References

External links

on the website of the Parliament of Vanuatu
"Vanuatu’s new finance minister aims for stability"
Radio New Zealand International, 23 September 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Molisa, Sela 1950 births 2022 deaths University of the South Pacific alumni Ministers of finance of Vanuatu Members of the Parliament of Vanuatu Government ministers of Vanuatu Ambassadors of Vanuatu to China Vanua'aku Pati politicians People from Sanma Province 20th-century Vanuatuan politicians 21st-century Vanuatuan politicians

Education

Career

Further reading

References

External links