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 " ...
; died 15 November 2010 in
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 ...
Biography on the website of the Parliament of Solomon Islands) was 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, several times
Cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...
, and Deputy Prime Minister from May to November 2007.
He studied first at the
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
(
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
), where he obtained a Certificate in Administration, Management and Systems. He then obtained a Certificate in Teaching from the Solomon Islands Teachers College, followed by a Diploma in Education and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education from the
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick un ...
(
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
). He completed his studies with a Post-Graduate Certificate in Teaching from the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, and began a career in teaching and administration.
He taught at St. Nicholas primary school, in Solomon Islands, before becoming the school's
headmaster
A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school.
Role
While s ...
. He then entered public administration as Assistant Education Officer for Selection and Guidance at the Ministry of Education. He went on to serve as Chief Administrative Officer for Regulation at the Ministry of Public Service, Assistant Secretary for Personnel to the Prime Minister's Office, Under-Secretary at the Public Service Division, Deputy Secretary to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, then Permanent Secretary to a number of Ministries, before becoming Secretary to the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
He began his political career 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: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
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
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 ...
ascended to the premiership. Sogavare appointed Kaua to Cabinet, as Minister for Mines and Energy. He subsequently appointed him Minister for Agriculture and Livestock, then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Service. In November 2007, however, Kaua resigned from Cabinet and joined the Opposition. The following month, Sogavare's government was ousted in a vote of no confidence, and Kaua was appointed Minister for Justice and Legal Affairs by new Prime Minister
, a position which he held until he left the government for health reasons in May 2009.
He retained his seat in Parliament in the August 2010 general election, and served as a government
backbencher
In Westminster system, Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no Minister (government), governmental office and is not a Frontbencher, frontbench spokesperson ...
for the remaining months of his life. On 15 November 2010, he died in hospital following a "long illness"."Country Farewells Late Toswel Kaua" ''Solomon Times'', 19 November 2010