National colors: blue, yellow, green, white.
Title | "God Save Our Solomon Islands" |
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Lyric/music | Panapasa BALEKANA and Matila BALEKANA/Panapasa BALEKANA |
Date of Independence | 7 July 1978 (from the UK) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 7 July (1978) |
Legal system | mixed legal system of English common law and customary law |
International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt |
Constitution | |
History | Adopted 31 May 1978, effective 7 July 1978; note - in late 2017, provincial leaders agreed to adopt a new federal constitution; progress has been stalled, but as of February 2023, the draft constitution was with the Constitutional Review Unit in the prime minister's office |
Amendments | Proposed by the National Parliament; passage of constitutional sections, including those on fundamental rights and freedoms, the legal system, Parliament, alteration of the constitution and the ombudsman, requires three-fourths majority vote by Parliament and assent of the governor general; passage of other amendments requires two-thirds majority vote and assent of the governor general; amended several times, last in 2018 |
Citizenship | |
Citizenship by birth | no |
Citizenship by descent only | at least one parent must be a citizen of the Solomon Islands |
Dual citizenship recognized | no |
Residency requirement for naturalization | 7 years |
Executive Branch | |
Chief of state | King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General David Tiva KAPU (since 7 July 2024) |
Head of government | Prime Minister Jeremiah MANELE (since 2 May 2024) |
Cabinet | Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister |
Elections/appointments | the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the National Parliament for up to 5 years (eligible for a second term); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by the National Parliament; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among members of the National Parliament |
Legislative branch | |
Description | Unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 4-year terms) |
Elections | Last held on 17 April 2024 (next to be held in 2028) |
Election results | Percent of vote by party - OUR: 24.1%, independent 21.9%, SIDP 19.3%, SIUP 13.5%, KAD 4.5%, SIPRA 4.5%, PFP 3.2%, U4C 3.0%, DAP 1.6%, others 4.0%; seats by party - OUR Party 15, SIDP 8, SIUP 6, DAP 4, KAD 1, SIPRA 1, PFP 3, U4C 1, independents 11; composition - men 46, women 4, percentage women 8% |
Judicial branch | |
Highest court(s) | Court of Appeal (consists of the court president and ex officio members including the High Court chief justice and its puisne judges); High Court (consists of the chief justice and puisne judges, as prescribed by the National Parliament) |
Judge selection and term of office | Court of Appeal and High Court president, chief justices, and puisne judges appointed by the governor general upon recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, chaired by the chief justice and includes 5 members, mostly judicial officials and legal professionals; all judges serve until retirement at age 60 |
Subordinate courts | Magistrates' Courts; Customary Land Appeal Court; local courts |
Diplomatic representation in the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Jane Mugafalu Kabui WAETARA (since 16 September 2022); note - also Permanent Representative to the UN |
Chancery | 685 Third Avenue, 11th Floor, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10017 |
Telephone | [1] (212) 599-6192 |
FAX | [1] (212) 661-8925 |
Email address and website | [email protected] |
Diplomatic representation from the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Ann Marie YASTISHOCK (since 14 March 2024); note - also accredited to the Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea |
Embassy | BJS Building Commonwealth Avenue Honiara, Solomon Islands |
Telephone | [677] 23426 |
FAX | [677] 27429 |
National heritage | |
Total World Heritage Sites | 1 (natural) |
Selected World Heritage Site locales | East Rennell |
Want to know more about Solomon Islands? Check all different factbooks for Solomon Islands below.