The Shadow Cabinet of Solomon Islands is the parliamentary Opposition's alternative Cabinet

Shadow Cabinet

The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...

 in Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

. Solomon Islands is a Commonwealth realm

Commonwealth Realm

A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...

 with a Westminster system of government

Westminster System

The Westminster system is a democratic parliamentary system of government modelled after the politics of the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....

; the Shadow Cabinet is modelled on the British institution of the same name.

The Opposition is formally known as "Her Majesty’s Official Opposition".

Current Shadow Cabinet

The current Shadow Cabinet was appointed by Opposition Leader Steve Abana

Steve Abana

Steve William Abana is a Solomon Islands politician. He is currently Member of Parliament for Fataleka, and was the Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition from August 2010 to March 2011....

 on August 31, 2010, following the general election on August 4

Solomon Islands general election, 2010

A general election was held in the Solomon Islands on 4 August 2010. In May 2010, Prime Minister Derek Sikua announced that the election would be held on 4 August, however, this announcement was deemed to be premature, as only the Governor General has the authority to announce the election date...

, and Abana's unsuccessful attempt to be elected to the premiership. It shadows Prime Minister Danny Philip

Danny Philip

Danny Philip is a politician and diplomat from the Solomon Islands. He is the current Prime Minister, who came into office after the 2010 general election. He served as foreign minister from 1995 to 1996 and from July 2000 to June 2001...

's coalition Cabinet. Abana's Shadow Cabinet is also a coalition, albeit primarily composed of members of the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (Solomon Islands)

The Democratic Party is a political party in Solomon Islands.In a country in which political parties tend to be small and transient, and to obtain very few seats in Parliament , the Democratic Party has played a comparatively major role in recent history....

.

Stanley Sofu

Stanley Sofu

Stanley Festus Sofu is a Solomon Islands politician.He attended the Honiara Technical Institute from 1981 to 1985, followed by management courses, before working as a heavy plant mechanic. He then obtained a position as a works officer, and eventually as principal works officer, before going into...

, initially appointed Shadow Minister for Infrastructure Development, defected to the government in December 2010.

On January 20, 2011, citing dissatisfaction with the Cabinet being "manipulated by one or two people", Bodo Dettke

Bodo Dettke

Heinz Horst Bodo Dettke, better known as Bodo Dettke, born 27 February 1967, is a Solomon Islands politician.His political career began when he was elected to Parliament as MP for North West Guadalcanal in the August 2010 general election. He was appointed Ministry for Forestry in Prime Minister...

 (Minister for Fisheries), Douglas Ete

Douglas Ete

Douglas Ete, born August 4, 1964, is a Solomon Islands politician.After studying at the University of the South Pacific and at Massey University , he worked as Chief Executive Officer at the National Referral Hospital in Solomon Islands....

 (Minister for Forestry), Martin Sopage

Martin Sopage

Martin Sopage, whose name is also commonly spelt Martin Sopaghe, is a Solomon Islands politician.After a primary school education, he went into private business...

 (Minister for Lands and Housing) and Mark Kemakeza

Mark Kemakeza

Mark Roboliu Kemakeza is a member of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands. He represents Ngella constituency...

 (Minister for Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification) all left the government and formally joined Abana's Opposition. It was not immediately made clear what positions they might be given in a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle.

In late March 2011, Abana resigned from the leadership of the Opposition, reportedly under pressure from certain members, and Derek Sikua

Derek Sikua

David Derek Sikua served as the ninth Prime Minister of Solomon Islands from December 20, 2007 to August 25, 2010. He is a member of the Solomon Islands Liberal Party.-Career:Sikua is from Ngalitavethi Village in Guadalcanal Province...

 was elected by Opposition MPs to replace him. A week later, Abana defected to the government, along with four other members of the Opposition (Ricky Houeniopwela, Andrew Hanaria Keniasia, Connelly Sandakabatu and Peter Tom

Peter Tom (politician)

Peter Tom is a member of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands. He represents a constituency in Malaita Province. He served as the Solomon Islands' Minister for Women, Youths and Children's Affairs in Prime Minister Derek Sikua's Cabinet until May 2009, when he was transferred to the...

). This split reportedly brought the Opposition numbers down to just six, of which Opposition leader Derek Sikua and his deputy Matthew Wale.

Shadow Portfolio	Shadow Minister	Political party	Constituency Constituencies in Solomon Islands There are 50 constituencies in Solomon Islands, each electing one Member of Parliament to the National Parliament. Elections are held every four years; the most recent took place on April 5, 2006...
Leader of the Opposition; Minister for Public Service	Steve Abana Steve Abana Steve William Abana is a Solomon Islands politician. He is currently Member of Parliament for Fataleka, and was the Leader of Her Majesty's Opposition from August 2010 to March 2011....	Democratic Party Democratic Party (Solomon Islands) The Democratic Party is a political party in Solomon Islands.In a country in which political parties tend to be small and transient, and to obtain very few seats in Parliament , the Democratic Party has played a comparatively major role in recent history....	Fataleka
Deputy Shadow Prime Minister; Minister for Education and Human Resources Development; Shadow Minister for the Environment, Conservation and Meteorology	Matthew Wale	Democratic Party	Aoke-Langalanga Aoke-Langalanga Aoke-Langalanga, also known as Auki-Langalanga, is a parliamentary constituency electing one representative to the National Parliament of Solomon Islands. It is one of fourteen constituencies in Malaita Province. It is also a relatively new constituency, having been established for the Fifth...
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs	Peter Tom Peter Tom (politician) Peter Tom is a member of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands. He represents a constituency in Malaita Province. He served as the Solomon Islands' Minister for Women, Youths and Children's Affairs in Prime Minister Derek Sikua's Cabinet until May 2009, when he was transferred to the...	Democratic Party	West Kwaio
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Livestock	Connolly Sandagapatu	Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...	North-West Choiseul
Shadow Minister for Commerce, Industry, Labour and Immigration	John Maneniaru	Independent	West 'Are'are
Shadow Minister for Communication and Aviation; Shadow Minister for Police, National Security and Correctional services	Walter Folotalu	Democratic Party	Lau/Mbaelelea
Shadow Minister for Culture and Tourism	Seth Gukuna Seth Gukuna Seth Gukuna is a member of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands, representing a constituency in Rennell and Bellona Province. He currently serves as the Minister for Culture and Tourism.-References:*...	Independent	Rennell-Bellona
Shadow Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources	Andrew Hanaria Keniasina	People's Congress Party People's Congress Party The People's Congress Party is a political party in Solomon Islands. It was founded by outgoing deputy Prime Minister Fred Fono during the campaign for the 2010 general election....	East 'Are'are
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade; Shadow Minister for Justice and Legal Affairs	Milner Tozaka Milner Tozaka George Milner Tozaka OBE, better known as Milner Tozaka, is a Solomon Islands diplomat and politician.-Education:After attending the Malanguna Technical College in Papua New Guinea in 1968-1969, he briefly studied at the University of Papua New Guinea in 1970-1971...	People's Alliance Party People's Alliance Party (Solomon Islands) The People's Alliance Party is a political party in the Solomon Islands. The party was formed in 1977 through a merger of the Rural Alliance Party and the People's Progressive Party ....	North Vella Lavella
Shadow Minister for Forestry	Job Dudley Tausinga	Party for Rural Advancement	North New Georgia
Shadow Minister for Health and Medical Services	Dickson Mua Panakitasi	OUR Party Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party The Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party is a political party in the Solomon Islands.The party was established on 16 January 2010 by the leader of the Opposition , Manasseh Sogavare, and eight opposition MPs...	Savo-Russels
Shadow Minister for Infrastructure Development	?	-	-
Shadow Minister for Lands, Housing and Survey; Shadow Minister for National Planning and Aid Coordination	Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Damukana Sogavare was the sixth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 2000 to 2001 and again from 2006 to 2007. He has served in the National Parliament as Member for East Choiseul since 1997, and he is currently the Leader of the Opposition.-Biography:Sogavare was Permanent...	OUR Party	East Choiseul
Shadow Minister for Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification	David Dei Pacha	Democratic Party	South Guadalcanal
Shadow Minister for National Unity, Reconciliation and Peace	Sam Iduri Sam Iduri Shemuel Sam Iduri is a Solomon Islands politician.After studying at teachers' colleges in Solomon Islands and in Western Australia, he worked as a secondary school principal, then as education officer....	Democratic Party	West Kwara'ae
Shadow Minister for Provincial Government and Institutional strengthening	Alfred Ghiro Alfred Ghiro Alfred Ghiro is a Solomon Islands politician.He began his career in national politics when he was elected MP for East Makira in the August 2010 general election, standing as a candidate for the Democratic Party...	Democratic Party	East Makira
Shadow Minister for Rural Development and Indigenous Affairs	Moses Garu Moses Garu Moses Garu is a Solomon Islands politician.With diplomas in tropical agriculture and in secondary teaching, he has worked in public service, as a school teacher, and in banking. He was a bank manager at the time of the severe ethnic conflicts on Guadalcanal and Malaita in the early 2000s...	Democratic Party	West Guadalcanal
Shadow Minister for Women, Youth and Children Affairs	Silas Tausinga	Party for Rural Advancement	West New Georgia
Shadow Minister for Finance and the Treasury	Rick Houenipwela Rick Houenipwela Rick Houenipwela, more commonly known as Rick Hou, is a Solomon Islands politician.He has a Bachelor's decree in Accounting, and served as governor of his country's Central Bank "for more than 15 years" before becoming Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of the World Bank, and then going into...	Democratic Party	Small Malaita