Gordon Darcy Lilo (born 28 August 1965) is a Solomon Islander

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as

Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands The prime minister of Solomon Islands is Solomon Islands' head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the National Parliament. Since April 2019, the prime minister has been Manasseh Sogava ...

from 16 November 2011 to 9 December 2014. He was a member of the

National Parliament of the 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 ...

, representing the Gizo/Kolombangara constituency spanning Gizo and the island of

Kolombangara Kolombangara (sometimes spelled ''Kulambangara'') is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the nation state of Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The name is from a local language, a rough translation of its meaning is ...

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

. Lilo served as the

Minister of Finance of the Solomon Islands The Ministry of Finance and Treasury is a government ministry of the Solomon Islands responsible for public finances. The ministry is located in Honiara. Ministers *Willie Betu, 1975-1976 *Benedict Kinika, 1976-1981 *Bartholomew Ulufa’alu, 19 ...

from 2006 to 2007 and from 2010 to 2011.

Biography

Personal life

Lilo is originally from the village of Ghatere on

island. He earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in development and

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

from the Crawford School of Economics and Government at

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. Lilo's CV also includes a Postgraduate Diploma and

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...

received from the

University of Papua New Guinea The University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) is a university located in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. It was established by ordinance of the Australian administration in 1965. This followed the Currie Commission which had enquired ...

Career

Lilo worked as a

permanent secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

for the Ministries of Finance and of the Environment before entering politics. He was elected to the

in 2001. In November 2011, 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 ...

fired Lilo, his

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, and Central Bank Governor Rick Hou, accusing both of undermining his government. Philip had been accused of misusing and misappropriating a $10 million national development fund, which had been allocated to Solomon Islands from the government of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. In response to his sacking, Lilo told reporters, "No one undermined the prime minister, but he undermined himself by abusing his powers and the highest office in the country. He sacked us to create a vacuum to lure MPs from the opposition." Lilo further criticized Philips, "What he (Mr Philip) did was unbelievable, unacceptable and sickening."

Prime Minister of Solomon Islands

Prime Minister

resigned on 11 November 2011, ahead of a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

stemming from the allegations of the misuse of Taiwanese funds. On 16 November 2011, Lilo was elected

Prime Minister of Solomon Islands The prime minister of Solomon Islands is Solomon Islands' head of government, consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the National Parliament. Since April 2019, the prime minister has been Manasseh Sogava ...

, winning a majority of the 29 of the 49 eligible members of Parliament and defeating three other rivals for the office. Former Prime Minister

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 ...

of East Choiseul received nine votes, MP for North Vella La Vella Milner Tozaka received nine votes, and MP for Gao/Bugotu Samuel Manetoali earned just two votes in parliament. Lilo was declared the winner by Governor General Sir

Frank Kabui Sir Frank Utu Ofagioro Kabui, GCMG, CSI, OBE KStJ (born 20 April 1946) was the Governor General of the Solomon Islands from 7 July 2009 to 7 July 2019. He is also a trained judge, having been his country's first law graduate in 1975, and is a ...

. Lilo took the

oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...

before Kabui at approximately 5 p.m. On 18 November two days after his election Lilo held his first official engagement with US ambassador to the Solomon Islands, Teddy Taylor regarding the Solomon Islands eligibility for US Millennium Challenge Account funding. Lilo is a member of the National Coalition for Reform and Advancement (NCRA), the same party as his predecessor, Danny Philip. Lilo took over the leadership of the NCRA from Philips, which retains the Office of Prime Minister. Prime Minister Lilo completed his cabinet appointments by 23 November 2011, restoring almost all of ministers from the previous NCRA government to their posts. The only major change was Lilo's appointment of Rick Hou as the country's new finance minister. Lilo reappointed

Manasseh Maelanga Manasseh Maelanga (born March 25, 1970) is a member of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands. He represents East Malaita constituency. In May 2009, he was named Minister for Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening in Prim ...

deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

. Maelanga was also appointed Home Affairs Minister. Lilo is a key supporter of the

Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), also known as Operation Helpem Fren, Operation Anode and Operation Rata (by New Zealand), was created in 2003 in response to a request for international aid by the Governor-General of ...

. Prime Minister Lilo pledged to refocus on Solomon Islands' faltering

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

industry at the opening 48th Asian Pacific Coconut Committee (APCC) Ministerial meeting, which was held at the Mendana Hotel in

Honiara Honiara () is the capital and largest city of Solomon Islands, situated on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal. , it had a population of 92,344 people. The city is served by Honiara International Airport and the seaport of Point Cruz, and lie ...

on 28 November 2011. Lilo's government (backed by the governments of

Nauru Nauru ( or ; na, Naoero), officially the Republic of Nauru ( na, Repubrikin Naoero) and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in Oceania, in the Central Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Ki ...

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northeast ...

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

and

Timor-Leste East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

) introduced the motion which led to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

re-inscribing

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

on the

United Nations list of non-self-governing territories Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter defines a non-self-governing territory (NSGT) as a territory "whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government". In practice, an NSGT is a territory deemed by the United Nations Gener ...

in May 2013. Lilo stated that he wished to see French Polynesia obtain

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

regarding its future status. The day before the vote in the General Assembly, the

Assembly of French Polynesia The Assembly of French Polynesia (french: Assemblée de la Polynésie française, Tahitian: Te apo'ora'a rahi o te fenua Mā'ohi) is the unicameral legislature of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. It is located at Plac ...

formally protested against the prospect of the country being re-added to the list. France denounced Solomon Islands-introduced motion as "blatant interference nda complete absence of respect for the democratic choice of

rench The Rench is a right-hand tributary of the Rhine in the Ortenau (Baden (Land), Central Baden, Germany). It rises on the southern edge of the Northern Black Forest at Kniebis near Bad Griesbach im Schwarzwald. The source farthest from the mouth is ...

Polynesians", who had just elected a government hostile to the prospect of independence."Polynésie : la France dénonce une "ingérence flagrante" de l'ONU"
''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', 17 May 2013

References

External links

Member page at Parliament website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lilo, Gordon Darcy 1965 births Australian National University alumni Finance Ministers of the Solomon Islands Environment ministers of the Solomon Islands Justice ministers of the Solomon Islands Living people Members of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands People from the Western Province (Solomon Islands) Prime Ministers of the Solomon Islands University of Papua New Guinea alumni