By Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Daniel Suidani, a former school teacher turned Solomon Islands provincial leader who won international recognition for his defiance of China, has died in Honiara, his friends said on Tuesday.
As premier of Malaita, Solomon Islands’ largest province, Suidani banned Chinese companies after the Pacific Island nation’s newly-elected Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favour of Beijing in 2019.
Suidani, who also invited the U.S. to contribute aid, said he opposed the change in diplomatic ties because Sogavare had not canvassed his intentions during the election campaign.
Solomon Islands later struck a security pact with China, becoming Beijing’s closest ally in the strategically-located Pacific Islands, raising concern in Washington and Canberra.
Suidani, 55, died in a Honiara hospital on Tuesday, his political adviser and friend Celsus Talifilu said in a social media post. The cause of death was not disclosed. In 2021, Suidani travelled to Taipei for medical treatment for a suspected brain tumour.
A Honiara court is due to rule on Wednesday on whether unlawful assembly charges against Suidani and Talifilu, related to 2021 anti-China protests in Malaita, should be thrown out.
Suidani was a powerful speaker, and an important figure for democracy in Solomon Islands, Talifilu told Reuters.
The Solomon Islands National University’s student council wrote on Facebook that the nation had lost a son who advocated for strong democratic values.
Solomon Islands Broadcasting reported the Malaita provincial government had released a statement mourning its member and former leader, saying “we learn from him in positive ways that help us together”.
Suidani was toppled as premier in 2023 in a no-confidence motion that his supporters boycotted, and dismissed from his seat, although the High Court ruled the move unlawful in 2025.
Suidani was re-elected to the provincial assembly in last year’s general election.
His replacement as Malaita premier, who signed a deal allowing Chinese construction companies to enter the province and build roads, was ousted by voters in the same poll.
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
