Manasseh Damukana Sogavare (born 17 January 1955) is a Solomon Islander politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2024.

[6][7] Despite earning a modest formal salary, he has accrued a vast[clarification needed] real estate portfolio, raising questions about his sources of income.

[11] A few days later, Ulufa'alu said that the decision was motivated by the need for the government to maintain the numbers to stay in power.

[15] Sogavare was elected as prime minister by parliament on 30 June 2000, with 23 votes in favor and 21 against, after Ulufa'alu was captured by rebels and forced to resign.

[18] His main tasks included organizing the recovery from rioting that took place during Rini's time as prime minister.

Sogavare had expelled the Australian High Commissioner Patrick Cole in September and defended the Solomons' suspended attorney general, Julian Moti, who Australia wanted extradited to face child sex charges there.

[20] On 13 October, Sogavare threatened to expel Australia from an assistance mission in the Solomons,[21] and a week later Australian peacekeepers from the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands raided Sogavare's office (when he was not present) looking for evidence related to the Moti case.

[2] In 2010, Sogavare and eight other MPs established the Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party,[25] which won three seats in the 2010 general election.

The lawmaker who submitted the motion of no confidence, Derek Sikua, claimed that Sogavere had lost touch with reality and become fixated on conspiracy theories, while Sogavere attributed the defections to a proposed anti-graft bill, saying that some MPs were afraid it would lead to them being imprisoned.

In a statement Sogavare announced the decision as representing an advance of Solomon Islands national interests, an outcome of a bi-partisan taskforce to investigate and confirm the facts surrounding the 'One China Principle', and reporting by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade.

[34] Responding to questions about caucus unity on the decision, Sogavare presented it as "a collective agreement agreed to by all the Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement (DCGA) coalition MPs elected into the 11th parliament, conducted in a very open and transparent manner as far as government caucus is concerned".

[36] Malaita Province, however, continued to be supported by Taiwan and the United States, the latter sending US$25 million of aid to the island in 2020.

[37] The premier of Malaita Province, Daniel Suidani, also held an independence referendum in 2020 which the national government has dismissed as illegitimate.

[40][41] Sogavare himself resisted calls to resign, warning that the rioters would "face consequences" while also accusing them of being "politically motivated".

[49] Ultimately, Sogavare led OUR party to win a leading fifteen seats and over 24% of the vote in the elections.

[50] On 29 April, Sogavare announced he would step down as OUR Party leader and not seek another term as prime minister in the 2 May parliamentary vote, which he said was a "collective decision".