Hon. Lanelle Tanangada, a teacher by profession and graduate of the University of Waikato, was elected as the first woman from the Western Province to the Solomon Islands Parliament in 2018. She won the Gizo/Kolombangara by-election as an Independent candidate. She has served as the Minister of Women, Youth, Children, and Family Affairs since October 2018. Prior to her political career, she was a secondary school teacher. Hon. Tanangada is married to former MP Jimson Tanangada and hails from Kuzi Village, Kolombangara.