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

Government type:
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Capital:
name: Honiara
geographic coordinates: 9 26 S, 159 57 E
time difference: UTC+11 (16 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:
9 provinces and 1 city*; Central, Choiseul, Guadalcanal, Honiara*, Isabel, Makira and Ulawa, Malaita, Rennell and Bellona, Temotu, Western

Independence:
7 July 1978 (from the UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 7 July (1978)

Constitution:
adopted 31 May 1978, effective 7 July 1978; amended several times, last in 2010 (2012)

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

Suffrage:
21 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Frank KABUI (since 7 July 2009)
head of government: Prime Minister Gordon Darcy LILO (since 16 November 2011)
cabinet: Cabinet consists of 20 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister from among the members of parliament
elections: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of parliament for up to five years (eligible for a second term); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition 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; Gordon Darcy LILO elected on 16 November 2011

Legislative branch: unicameral National Parliament (50 seats; members elected from single-member constituencies by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held on 4 August 2010 (next to be held in 2014)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - SIDP 14, OUR 4, SIPRA 3, RDP 3, IDP 2, DDP 2, PCP 1, PFP 1, RUPP 1, SILP 1, SINP 1, independents 17

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of the court president, and ex officio members to include 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 to include 5 members, mostly judicial officials and legal professionals; all judges appointed until retirement at age 60
subordinate courts: Magistrates' Courts; local courts; Customary Land Appeal Court

Political parties and leaders:
Direct Development Party or DDP [Dick HA'AMORI]
Independent Democratic Party or IDP [Snyder RINI]
People's Alliance Party or PAP [James MEKAB]
People's Congress Party or PCP [Fred FONO]
People's Federation Party or PFP [Rudolf DORA]
Ownership, Unity, and Responsibility Party or OUR [Manasseh SOGAVARE]
Reform Democratic Party or RDP [Danny PHILIP]
Rural and Urban Political Party or RUPP [Samuel MANETOALI]
Solomon Islands Democratic Party or SIDP [Steve ABANA]
Solomon Islands Liberal Party or SILP [Derek SIKUA]
Solomon Islands National Party or SINP [Francis HILLY]
Solomon Islands Party for Rural Advancement or SIPRA [Job D. TAUSINGA]
United Party [Sir Peter KENILOREA]
note: in general, Solomon Islands politics is characterized by fluid coalitions

Political pressure groups and leaders: Isatabu Freedom Movement (IFM)
Malaita Eagle Force (MEF)

note: these rival armed ethnic factions crippled the Solomon Islands in a wave of violence from 1999 to 2003

International organization participation:
ACP, ADB, AOSIS, C, EITI (candidate country), ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Collin David BECK (since 31 March 2004)
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 the Solomon Islands; the US ambassador to Papua New Guinea, currently Ambassador Walter E. North, 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; blue represents the ocean; green the land; and yellow sunshine; the five stars stand for the five main island groups of the Solomon Islands

National anthem:
name: "God Save Our Solomon Islands"
lyrics/music: Panapasa BALEKANA and Matila BALEKANA/Panapasa BALEKANA
note: adopted 1978