Related Research Articles
Fiji has experienced many coups recently, in 1987, 2000, and 2006. Fiji has been suspended various times from the Commonwealth of Nations, a grouping of mostly former British colonies. It was readmitted to the Commonwealth in December 2001, following the parliamentary election held to restore democracy in September that year, and has been suspended again because of the 2006 coup, but has been readmitted a second time after the 2014 election. Other Pacific Island governments have generally been sympathetic to Fiji's internal political problems and have declined to take public positions.
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population of 883,483 live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts: either in the capital city of Suva; or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi—where tourism is the major local industry; or in Lautoka, where the sugar-cane industry is dominant. The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain.
Laisenia Qarase was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment as Prime Minister on 4 July. He won two parliamentary elections, but a military coup removed him from power on 5 December 2006. He was later imprisoned on corruption charges brought by the military-backed regime.
The president of the Republic of Fiji is the head of state of Fiji. The President is appointed by the Parliament of Fiji for a three-year term under the terms of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji. Although not entirely a figurehead, the president's role in government is mostly ceremonial, but there are important reserve powers that may be exercised in the event of a crisis. In addition, the president is commander-in-chief of the military forces.
The prime minister of the Republic of Fiji is the head of government of Fiji. The prime minister is appointed by the president under the terms of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji. He is the head of the cabinet and appoints and dismiss ministers.
Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later democratically elected as Prime Minister of Fiji, serving from 1992 to 1999. He went on to serve as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, and later served as Chairman of the Cakaudrove Provincial Council from 2001 to 2008. He was elected to this position on 24 May 2001 and re-elected for another three-year term on 13 April 2005. On 24 June 2016, Rabuka was elected as leader of the Social Democratic Liberal Party, succeeding Leader of the Opposition Ro Teimumu Kepa, who publicly disapproved of Rabuka's nomination to replace her. On 26 November 2018, Rabuka was appointed as the leader of the Opposition to Parliament, following the 2018 election defeat. Rabuka was the only nomination for the position and his nomination was moved by Ro Teimumu Kepa and seconded by Biman Prasad. On 28 November 2020 he was ousted as SODELPA leader by Viliame Gavoka in a leadership contest. On 7 December 2020 Rabuka had resigned from parliament citing that he will no longer be an obstacle to the bipartisan approach to be taken by the leaders of Fiji to create harmony and progress and unity in Fiji.
Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, commonly known as Frank Bainimarama, is the 8th and current prime minister of Fiji since 2007. A member of the Fiji First Party, he began his career as a naval officer and commander of the Fijian Military Forces.
Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long career in fifteen-a-side rugby at both club and national team levels. Nicknamed "The Wizard" by commentators, he is widely considered to be the greatest rugby sevens player in the history of the game. A biography of Serevi titled Waisale Serevi: King of Sevens by Nick Darvenzi was published in 2018.
The Fiji national football team is Fiji's national men's team and is controlled by the governing body of football in Fiji, the Fiji Football Association. The team plays most of their home games at the ANZ National Stadium in Suva.
Two military mutinies took place in connection with the civilian coup d'état that occurred in Fiji in 2000, the first while the rebellion instigated by George Speight was in progress, and the second four months after it had ended.
The Chief Justice is Fiji's highest judicial officer. The office and its responsibilities are set out in Chapter 5 of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji. The Chief Justice is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, who is required by the Constitution to consult the Attorney-General. Under the previous 1997 Constitution, the Prime Minister was required to consult with the Leader of the Opposition. The appointment is permanent, until the Chief Justice reaches the age of 75 years.
Jioji Konousi "George" Konrote, OF, MC is a Fijian politician and retired Major-General of the Fiji Military who has been President of Fiji since 2015. After commanding a peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, Konrote served as Fiji's High Commissioner to Australia from 2001 to 2006, as Minister of State for Immigration briefly in 2006, and as Minister for Employment Opportunities, Productivity and Industrial Relations from 2014 to 2015. He is the first non-iTaukei president and the first Seventh-day Adventist to be elected by parliament, as previous presidents were selected by the Great Council of Chiefs.
The Fiji National Rugby Sevens Team has competed in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Olympics. They won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, the country's first Olympic medal in any event. They are the only country in the world to have won the three major achievements in Sevens. They have won multiple World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens.
Vilimaina Davu is a Fijian and New Zealand netball player, who has represented both countries in international netball as a goal keeper. She has also played basketball at an international level.
The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 occurred as a continuation of the pressure which had been building since the military unrest of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and 2005–06 Fijian political crisis.
The High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Fiji is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in the Republic of Fiji.
Kaiava Salusalu, written also as Kaiyava Salusalu is a Fijian former rugby union and rugby league footballer who played as a centre.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Fiji is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first case of the disease in Fiji was reported on 19 March 2020 in Lautoka. As of 22 April 2021, the country has had a total of 86 cases as of which nineteen are currently active and 2 deaths, with all cases recorded in the islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. The last 62 cases have been international travel associated cases detected in border quarantine. In March 2021 Fiji became the first Pacific island country to receive the COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX initiative with frontline workers and first responders the first to be vaccinated.
References
- ↑ Kalaveti Tuiabayaba rugbyleagueproject.org
- ↑ Peacock shows off The Observer, 5 November 2000
- ↑ England find islanders a breeze The Telegraph, 5 November 2000