ppointed 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: there are two main coalitions -
Coalition for National Unity, Reconciliation, and Peace or CNURP and
Alliance for Change; the CNURP took power on 30 June 2000, it
comprises members of the Liberal Party, People's Alliance Party, and
the United Party, as well as a number of independents; the Alliance
for Change, represents the former government and now is the
opposition; in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by
fluid coalitions; Group for National Unity and Reconciliation or
GNUR [leader NA]; Liberal Party [Bartholomew ULUFA'ALU]; National
Action Party of Solomon Islands or NAPSI [Francis SAEMALA]; People's
Alliance Party or PAP [George LEPPING]; People's Progressive Party
[Mannaseh Damukana SOGAVARE]; Solomon Islands Labor Party or SILP
[Joses TUHANUKU]; United Party or UP [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders: 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
(vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Jeremiah MANELE

chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017

telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193

FAX: [1] (212) 661-8925

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

Solomon Islands Economy

Economy - overview: The bulk of the population depends on
agriculture, fishing, and forestry for at least part of their
live