Hilda Thugea Kari (born Hilda Thugea Auvi in 1949
Women in Leadership) 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, the first woman to be elected to 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 ...

Life

Educated 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 ...

, she is a senior health administrator, and President of the National Council of Women, an organisation dedicated to encouraging and facilitating women's participation in politics.''New politics in the South Pacific'', 1994, p.205
/ref> She was the first woman to be elected to the

,“Women Candidates Training Workshop 2010”
Centre for Democratic Institutions although Lilly Ogatina was indirectly elected to the Legislative Council in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

. She successfully contested the 1989 by-election for the North East Guadalcanal seat caused by MP

Waita Ben Tabusasi Waita is a settlement in Kenya's Eastern Province. Waita is located in the region of. Kitui's capital, is approximately 66 km/ 41 mi away from Waita. The distance from Waita to Kenya's capital Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capit ...

vacating his seat to become

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

. She was re-elected, as MP for East Central Guadalcanal, in the 1993 general election, and again in 1997, thus serving until 2001. She was Minister for Forestry, the Environment and Conservation from 1997 to 2000, under Prime Minister

Bartholomew Ulufa'alu Bartholomew (Bart) Ulufa'alu (25 December 1950 – 25 May 2007) was the fifth Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 27 August 1997 to 30 June 2000.Malaita Eagle Force The Malaita Eagle Force was a militant organisation, originating in the island of Malaita, in the Solomon Islands. It was formed in the early 2000s and soon crossed over to Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands. It was set up during 'The Ten ...

in a context of rising

ethnic tensions Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to notions and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group in varying degrees. There are multiple origins for ethnic hatred and the resulting ethnic conflic ...

. Kari then served as Minister for Youth, Women and Sport under his successor

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 ...

, from 2000 to 2001. She is also recorded as having been briefly Minister for Lands and Housing in 2000, although it is not known whether this was under Ulufa'alu or Sogavare. She stood unsuccessfully in the 2010 general election for the seat of North East Guadalcanal. Reacting to the fact that no women had been elected, she described the overall result as "a real slap on the face for women in this country", and was particularly critical of women voters who, in her view, displayed a lack of "trust" in women candidates."Make-up of the 9th Parliament"
Hilda Kari, ''Solomon Star'', 26 August 2010

References

Life

See also

References