Dickson Mua Panakitasi, primarily known as Dickson Mua (born 4 November 1972Official biography
on the website of the

National Parliament of Solomon Islands The National Parliament of Solomon Islands has 50 members, elected for a four-year term in 50 single-seat constituencies. It is presided by a Speaker, currently Patterson Oti. Latest elections Members The official website of the National ...

), is a

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

politician.

Biography and career

Having obtained a diploma in English and Social Studies from the

Solomon Islands College of Higher Education Honiara Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) is a university in Honiara, Solomon Islands; apart from the University of the South Pacific, which has a satellite campus in the country. It is located in eastern Honiara, south of Ho ...

, he worked as the principal of a secondary school before entering politics. He was first elected to the

as MP for Savo-Russels, a constituency in Central Province, in the August 2010 general election, standing as a member of

Manasseh Sogavare Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is the sixth and current Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, serving since 24 April 2019. He previously held the office in 2000–2001, 2006—2007 and 2014–2017; in all he has served over ni ...

Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party The Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party (or Our Party) is a political party in the Solomon Islands. The party was established on 16 January 2010 (and officially launched a month later) by the leader of the Opposition (and former Prime Minis ...

("OUR Party"). He attracted attention by defeating the incumbent, veteran politician Sir

Allan Kemakeza Allan Kemakeza (born 11 September 1950) was the seventh Prime Minister of Solomon Islands from 2001 to 2006. He represented Savo/Russel Constituency in the National Parliament of Solomon Islands from 1989 to 2010 Steve Abana Steve William Abana (born 1969 in Fourau, MalaitaBiography
on the website of the Parliament of Solomon Is ...

appointed him Shadow Minister for Health and Medical Services. In early April 2011, Abana, who had just been ousted from the opposition's leadership, defected to the government, bringing with him several other members of the opposition, including Mua. A cabinet reshuffle took place on 18 April; six ministers were removed to make way for the newcomers and shore up the parliamentary majority of Prime Minister

Danny Philip Danny Philip (born 5 August 1953) is a politician and diplomat from Solomon Islands. He was Prime Minister of Solomon Islands from 2010 to 2011. Previously he served as Foreign minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996 and again fro ...

. Mua was appointed Minister for Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs. As minister, he co-organised the participation of ten Solomon Islanders in "an eight weeks course on

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

" in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In October, he was reshuffled to the position of Minister for Forest and Research. In July 2012, Mua was criticised by Opposition leader Dr.

Derek Sikua David Derek Sikua (born 10 October 1959Sikua CV at Parliament website
) served as th ...

for having renewed the logging licence of the Earth Movers Logging Company. Sikua alleged that Mua had done so under pressure from the Prime Minister and in contravention to the Attorney General’s advice. Mua denied the claim, saying he had acted on the basis of his own judgment, and accused the Opposition of spreading misinformation. In November, he was criticised for approving the release of public funds to a tourism project operated by his wife. He replied that he had approved funds for all six projects that had applied for funding in his constituency, noting that "to say the projects all went to my relatives and or close friends was not true”."MP’s wife gets $200,000 from tourism funds"
, ''Solomon Star'', 15 November 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mua, Dickson 1972 births Living people Members of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands People from the Central Province (Solomon Islands) Forestry ministers of the Solomon Islands Women's ministers of the Solomon Islands