Steve William Abana (born 1969 in Fourau, MalaitaBiography
on the website of the Parliament of Solomon Islands) is a

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 ...

politician. He is a former Member of Parliament for Fataleka and was the

Leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

of Her Majesty's Opposition from August 2010 to March 2011. Abana studied at the Fiji College of Agriculture (FCA), where he obtained a Diploma in Tropical Agriculture. Before his political career, he was a teacher at the Honiara High School. He then entered business, exporting cocoa during the height of the ethnic tension. After being successful, he started Anolpha Enterprises and became the managing director. His career in national politics began when he was elected MP for Fataleka, a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

in his native

Malaita Province Malaita Province is the most populous of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. The population of the province is 122,620 (1999). The area of the province is . It is named after its largest island, Malaita (also known as "Big Malaita" or " ...

, in the April 2006 general election. In October, he benefited from a reshuffle in

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is a Solomon Islander politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2024. He served as the prime minister of Solomon Islands for a total of nine years from 2000–2001, 2006–2007, 2014–2017 ...

's Cabinet, and was appointed Minister for National Planning and Aid Coordination. In November 2007, Sogavare dismissed him from office, accusing him of seeking support to oust him from the premiership. The following month, the Sogavare government was toppled by 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 ...

, and Abana supported new Prime Minister

Derek Sikua David Derek Sikua (born 10 October 1959Sikua CV at Parliament website ...

, who re-appointed him as Minister for National Planning and Aid Coordination. As leader of the Democratic Party, Abana was a key member of Sikua's Coalition for National Unity and Rural Advancement government. Abana led the Democratic Party into the August 2010 general election, campaigning on a promise of "more recognition to tribal landowners by registering all tribal lands in the name of tribes"; "the implementation of a National Adaptation Plan to address Climate Change for the most vulnerable communities; a focus to improve the standard of living in villages consistent with the

Millennium Development Goals In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...

"; a pledge "to ensure that 80 percent of energy in the country be produced from

renewable resources A renewable resource (also known as a flow resource) is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of ti ...

"; and electoral reform to introduce

preferential voting Preferential voting or preference voting (PV) may refer to different election systems or groups of election systems: * Any electoral system that allows a voter to indicate multiple preferences where preferences marked are weighted or used as cont ...

. The election was a comparative success for the Democrats: They obtained thirteen seats (out of fifty), whereas no other party obtained more than three, and Abana was re-elected MP for Fataleka. Abana then stood for the premiership, against

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

of the breakaway Reformed Democratic Party. Abana received the support of twenty-three MPs, but Philip was elected Prime Minister with the support of twenty-six. Abana became the formal Leader of the Opposition, and appointed the Shadow Cabinet. He stepped down as Leader of the Opposition on 23 March 2011, stating briefly that the Opposition needed to "revive itself". Two weeks later, he joined the ranks of the government, bringing with him several other Opposition MPs."Govt builds numbers"
, ''Solomon Star'', 7 April 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abana, Steve 1969 births Living people Members of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands People from Malaita Province Government ministers of the Solomon Islands Leaders of the opposition (Solomon Islands) Solomon Islands Democratic Party politicians

See also

References