Nelson Ne'e (February 2, 1954 – c. March 13, 2013"Former MP dies" , ''Solomon Star'', 13 March 2013) was 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.
Ne'e was born in Ambu,
Malaita Province
Malaita Province is the most populous and one of the largest of the nine provinces of Solomon Islands. It is named after its largest island, Malaita (also known as "Big Malaita" or "Maramapaina"). Other islands include South Malaita Island ...
. After studying at the Institute of Administration in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, he worked in administration for the Solomon Islands Electricity Authority, eventually becoming its Deputy General Manager, before going into politics.Official biography page
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 ...
He first entered the
National Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
when he was elected MP for the
Central Honiara constituency
Central Honiara is a single-member constituency of the National Parliament of Solomon Islands. Established in 1997 when the Parliament was increased in size from 47 to 50 seats, it is located in the capital city Honiara
Honiara () is the capi ...
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
.
In May 2006, following
riots
A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...
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 ...
appointed Ne'e as Minister for Tourism and Culture. At the time of his appointment, Ne'e had recently been arrested, by "Australian and local police" acting within 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 ...
(RAMSI), whereby Australia and other Pacific countries provided essential services to the country after the inter-ethnic violence from 1999 to 2003. He was charged with having participated in the earlier riots which had led to the fall of the Rini government. He was released after several months, reportedly on medical grounds, but did not retain his position in government after June; Sogavare "was forced to replace imafter a backlash from local church and community leaders, as well as foreign aid donors". Ne'e remained in gaol during the entirety of his hypothetical time as government minister. The charges were eventually dropped, for lack of evidence. A Cabinet leak, however, alleged that Sogavare had exerted influence to have the charges against Ne'e called off. In 2011, Ne'e sued for
malicious prosecution
Malicious prosecution is a common law intentional tort. Like the tort of abuse of process, its elements include (1) intentionally (and maliciously) instituting and pursuing (or causing to be instituted or pursued) a legal action (civil or criminal ...
, alleging that the charges against him had been politically motivated, instigated by Australian police due to his "anti-RAMSI views". His case was delayed when his
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
was convicted of
criminal conversion
Criminal conversion is a crime, limited to parts of common law systems outside England and Wales, of exerting unauthorized use or control of someone else's property, at a minimum personal property, but in some jurisdictions also applying to types ...
. The case was ongoing as of early 2012; there is no accessible record of it having ultimately been decided.
On 5 December 2007, Sogavare appointed Ne'e as Minister for Home Affairs. The appointment was short-lived; the Sogavare government was brought down by a
motion 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 ...