Alebua, Ezekiel (1947- )

Solomon Islands right-of-centre politician, prime minister 1986-89. He rose from the ranks of the right-of-centre Solomon Islands United Party (SIUPA) to become deputy prime minister in the 1984-86 government led by Peter Kenilorea. After Kenilorea's resignation in December 1986, he was narrowly elected by the national parliament to take over as prime minister and held this position until SIUPA was defeated in the general election of 1989. Under his premiership, the Solomon Islands joined Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu to form the ‘Spearhead Group’ in 1988, dedicated to preserving Melanesian cultural traditions. In 1997 Alebua stepped down as leader of the National Party, which had been formed in 1996 as the successor to SIUPA, and was replaced by Edward Hunuehu.