Honiara
Administrative divisions:
7 provinces and 1 town*; Central, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira,
Malaita, Temotu, Western
Independence:
7 July 1978 (from UK; formerly British Solomon Islands)
Constitution:
7 July 1978
Legal system:
common law
National holiday:
Independence Day, 7 July (1978)
Executive branch:
British monarch, governor general, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Parliament
Judicial branch:
High Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General
Sir George LEPPING (since 27 June 1989, previously acted as governor general
since 7 July 1988)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Solomon MAMALONI (since 28 March 1989); Deputy Prime Minister
Sir Baddeley DEVESI (since NA October 1990)
Political parties and leaders:
People's Alliance Party (PAP); United Party (UP), leader NA; Solomon Islands
Liberal Party (SILP), Bartholemew ULUFA'ALU; Nationalist Front for Progress
(NFP), Andrew NORI; Labor Party (LP), Joses TUHANUKU
Suffrage:
universal at age 21
Elections:
National Parliament:
last held 22 February 1989 (next to be held NA February 1993); results -
percent of vote by party NA; seats - (38 total) PAP 13, UP 6, NFP 4, SILP 4,
LP 2, independents 9
Member of:
ACP, AsDB, C, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO,
IOC, ITU, SPC, SPF, UN, UNCTAD, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador (vacant) resides in Honiara (Solomon Islands)
US:
the ambassador in Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands;
Embassy at Mud Alley, Honiara (mailing address is American Embassy, P. O.
Box 561, Honiara); telephone (677) 23890; FAX (677) 23488
Flag:
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

:Solomon Islands Economy

Overview:
About 90% of the population depend on subsistence agriculture, fishing, and
forestry for at least part of their livelihood. Agriculture, fishing, and
forestry contribute about 70% to GDP, with the fishing and forestry sectors
being important export earners. The service sector contributes about 25% to
GDP. Most manufactured goods and petroleum p