Lillian Maefai was a member of the

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 ...

. She was only the fifth woman ever to be elected to that parliament.

Early life

Lillian "Lilly" Maefai was born on the island of

Malaita Malaita is the primary island of Malaita Province in Solomon Islands. Malaita is the most populous island of the Solomon Islands, with a population of 161,832 as of 2021, or more than a third of the entire national population. It is also the se ...

, the most populous island in the

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 ...

. She graduated with secretarial qualifications from the

Honiara 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 H ...

and then worked for more than a decade at the Solomon Star newspaper, where her husband also worked. The couple than left the paper to start a small printing company.

Political life

Maefai's husband, Charles Maefai, was elected to the parliament for the

East Makira constituency East Makira is a single-member constituency of the National Parliament of Solomon Islands. Located on the island of Makira, it was established in 1973 when the Governing Council A personal ordinariate for former Anglicanism, Anglicans, shorte ...

on Makira island in the elections of April 2019. He died three months later. Lillian Maefai was asked by his constituents to consider running for parliament in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. Initially she was hesitant because she felt that, as a woman from Malaita, she would not be supported in Makira. However, she was eventually persuaded and was easily elected, receiving close to half the votes in a field of nine candidates. Taking her Oath of Allegiance on 18 December 2019, she became the third woman in the 50-member 2019-2023 parliament, joining

Freda Soria Comua Freda Tuki Soriocomua (usually referred to as Freda Soria Comua) is a politician of Solomon Islands who served as Minister of Rural Development from 15 December 2014 to 18 August 2015 and subsequently as Minister of Women, Youth, and Children's A ...

and

Lanelle Tanangada Lanelle Olandrea Tanangada (born 1 July 1979) is a Solomon Islands teacher and politician who has served as the country's Education Minister since April 2020. Early life and education Lanelle Oleandra Tanangada was born on 1 July 1979 in Western ...

. A fourth woman, Ethel Lency Vokia, was subsequently elected in 2020. Although elected as an independent candidate, Maefai announced that she had joined the Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party ("Our" Party), led by the prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare. Lillian Maefai lost the East Makira Constituency seat in the 2024 National General Elections. She was replaced by Franklyn Wasi who was a consultant at the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

country office in Solomon Island, a career public servant and former lecturer at the Solomon Islands National University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maefai, Lillian Solomon Islands women in politics Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands 21st-century politicians 21st-century women politicians People from Malaita Province Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party politicians