Country name
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Solomon Islands
former: British Solomon Islands

Data code BP

Government type parliamentary democracy

National capital Honiara

Administrative divisions 7 provinces and 1 town*; Central, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira, Malaita, Temotu, Western
note: there may be two new provinces of Choiseul (Lauru) and Rennell/Bellona and the administrative unit of Honiara may have been abolished

Independence 7 July 1978 (from UK)

National holiday Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

Constitution 7 July 1978

Legal system English common law

Suffrage 21 years of age; universal

Executive branch
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Moses PITAKAKA (since 10 June 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU (since 27 August 1997); Deputy Prime Minister Sir Baddeley DEVESI (since 27 August 1997)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament
elections: none; the queen is a hereditary monarch; governor general appointed by the queen on the advice of Parliament for up to five years; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of Parliament

Legislative branch unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 August 1997 (next to be held by August 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GNUR 21, PAP 7, NAPSI 5, SILP 4, UP 4, independents 6, other 3

Judicial branch Court of Appeal

Political parties and leaders characterized by fluid coalitions; Liberal Party, Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU; Solomon Islands National Unity, Reconciliation, and Progressive Party (SINURP), Danny PHILIP (leader of opposition); People's Alliance Party (PAP), leader NA; Group for National Unity and Reconciliation (GNUR), leader NA; National Action Party of Solomon Islands (NAPSI), leader NA; Solomon Islands Labor Party (SILP), leader NA; United Party (UP), leader NA; Nationalist Front for Progress (NFP), Andrew NORI; Labor Party (LP), Joses TUHANUKU; Christian Fellowship, leader NA; National Party, leader NA

International organization participation ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Stephen Rex HOROI (represents the country as both the Permanent Representative to the UN and the ambassador to the US)
chancery: Permanent Mission of the Solomon Islands to the UN, 820 Second Avenue, Suite 800, New York, NY 10017
telephone: [1] (212) 599-6193

Diplomatic representation from the US the US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands

Flag description divided diagonally by a thin yellow stripe from the lower hoist-side corner; the upper triangle (hoist side) is blue with five white five-pointed stars arranged in an X pattern; the lower triangle is green

NOTE: The information regarding Solomon Islands on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Solomon Islands Government 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Solomon Islands Government 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.