Hon Hilda Lini
Hon Hilda Lini
Party: VU and NUP
Term: 1987-1996
Electorate: Port Vila
Province: N/A
Political Status: Various ministerial portfolios
Biographical data
Motarilavoa Hilda Lini is a chief of the Turaga nation of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu. Following Vanuatu’s 1980 independence, she became the first woman elected to Parliament, in 1987. From 1991-95, Hon Lini was Minister of Rural Water Supply and Health. In 1993 she was also Acting Minister of External Affairs and Tourism. For two months from October-November 1996, she was also Minister of Justice, Culture and Women’s Affairs.
In 1996 she was replaced in the government by her brother, ex-premier Father Walter Lini. Hon Lini subsequently resigned from the National Party and founded her own party, the Tu Vanuatu kominiti. From 2000-04, Hon Lini was Director of the Pacific Concerns Resource Center. She has a Bachelor of Arts, with a major in Journalism from the University of PNG.