Rini was Permanent Secretary for the Ministry for Natural Resources in 1989 and was Chairman of Solomon Islands National Provident Fund from 1990 to 1996. He was also Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of National Planning and Development from 1994 to 1995 and Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries from January 1997 to June 1997. He was first elected to the
National Parliament in the
August 1997 election. Under Prime Minister
Manasseh Sogavare, he served as
Minister of Finance and Treasury from July 2000 to December 2001. Re-elected to Parliament in
December 2001, he became
deputy prime minister and Minister for National Planning & Development in that month; after one year, he became deputy prime minister and Minister for Finance and Treasury in December 2002, and he then became deputy prime minister and Minister for Education and Human Resources Development in mid-2003, remaining in that post until April 2006. His successor,
Manasseh Sogavare, took office on 4 May 2006, defeating Rini's deputy prime minister,
Fred Fono, in the vote to replace Rini. Fono, as
Leader of the Opposition, named Rini as Shadow Minister of National Planning and Aid Coordination on 16 May 2006. After Sogavare was defeated in a no-confidence vote in December 2007, Rini became Minister for Finance and Treasury under Prime Minister
Derek Sikua on 21 December 2007. Following the replacement of Manasseh Sogavare as prime minister by
Rick Houenipwela on 15 November 2017, Sogavare became
Minister of Finance of the Solomon Islands. ==Death==