Biographical entry: Alebua, Ezekiel (1947 - )

Born
1947
Occupation
Prime Minister

Details

Ezekiel Alebua was born at Avuavu on the Weathercoast of Guadalcanal in 1947. He was educated at a local primary school and then at St. Joseph's School at Tenaru, after which he attended administrative and management courses at the University of the South Pacific. Alebua returned to work as the clerk for various provincial assemblies, the last in Guadalcanal Province. He was elected to National Parliament in 1981 and became Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in the first Mamaloni (q.v.) government, and in the next, Kenilorea (q.v.) government became Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Agriculture and then Minister for Foreign Affairs. He replaced Kenilorea when he resigned after unfounded accusations on improper use of French aid money after a cyclone. Alebua served as Prime Minister from 1 December 1986 to 28 March 1989. He lost the office to Solomon Mamaloni in the February 1989 elections. While Prime Minister he did little to deal with growing discontent on Guadalcanal, and then, while Premier of Guadalcanal Province from 1998 to 2003, exploited that discontent during the period of 'tensions' between the Malaita Eagle Force and the Isatabu Freedom Movement. On 1 June 2001 he was wounded when Harold Keke's Isatabu Freedom Movement tried to assassinate him. Alebua was later imprisoned for several years for corrupt behaviour. (Moore 2004b, 49-50; Kabutaulaka 2002)

Published resources

Books

  • Kabutaulaka, Tarcisius T., Footprints in the Tasimauri Sea: A Biography of Dominiko Alebua, Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, Suva, 2002. Details
  • Moore, Clive, Happy Isles in Crisis: The Historical Causes for a Failing State in Solomon Islands, 1998-2004, Asia Pacific Press, Canberra, 2004b, ix, 265 pp. Details