Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec Islands to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas and France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast, and Tuvalu to the north. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which 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 is Ono-i-Lau. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the total population of 898,760. The capital, Suva, on Viti Levu, serves as the country's principal cruise-ship port. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi—where tourism is the major local industry—or Lautoka, where the sugar-cane industry is paramount. Due to its terrain, the interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited.
The Fiji Labour Party (FLP) is a political party in Fiji. Most of its support is from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an indigenous Fijian, Dr. Timoci Bavadra. The party has been elected to power twice, with Timoci Bavadra and Mahendra Chaudhry becoming prime minister in 1987 and 1999 respectively. On both occasions, the resulting government was rapidly overthrown by a coup.
Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, CF, LVO, OBE, MSD, KStJ, is a Fijian chief who was President of Fiji from 2009 to 2015. He has had a long career in the Military, diplomatic service, and government. From 2001 to 2006 he served as Speaker of the House of Representatives – the lower and more powerful chamber of the Fijian Parliament. He was also the Chairman of the Parliamentary Appropriations Committee and of the House Committee. On 8 January 2007, he was appointed the interim Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade; he was moved to the post of interim Minister for Provincial Development and Multi-Ethnic Affairs in September 2008. In October 2008, he became Indigenous Affairs Minister "and effectively Great Council of Chiefs chairman". On 17 April 2009, he was appointed Vice-President by the Military government.
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.
Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama CF, MSD, OStJ, known commonly as Frank Bainimarama and sometimes by the chiefly title Ratu, is a Fijian naval officer and politician who has been Prime Minister of Fiji since 2007. He was the Commander of the Fijian Military Forces from 1999 to 2014. While holding the office of Prime Minister, he has temporarily held various ministerial portfolios: Information, Home Affairs, Immigration, Public Service, Indigenous and Multi-Ethnic Affairs, Finance, and Foreign Affairs.
The Fiji Times is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869 by George Littleton Griffiths, it is Fiji's oldest number 1 newspaper still operating. The newspaper's masthead states that it is: "The First Newspaper Published In The World Every Day".
Since attaining independence from the United Kingdom on 10 October 1970, Fijian history has been marked by exponential economic growth up to 1987, followed by relative stagnation, caused to a large extent by political instability following two military coups in 1987 and a civilian putsch in 2000. This was followed by another military coup in 2006. Rivalry between indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians, rather than ideological differences, have been the most visible cleavage of Fijian politics.
Fiji Water is a brand of bottled water derived, bottled, and shipped from Fiji. It is available in 330 ml, 500 ml, 700 ml, 1 litre, and 1.5 litre bottles. According to marketing materials, the water comes from an artesian aquifer in Viti Levu. Fiji Water is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Samisoni Tikoinasau Speight is a Fijian politician, who held Cabinet office as Minister of State for Public Utilities and Reforms, to which he was appointed after parliamentary election of May 2006. Previously, he was Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources from 2005 to 2006. Like many ethnic Fijians, he rarely uses his surname.
Mitieli Bulanauca is a Fijian politician, Member of the Parliament of Fiji, and former Cabinet Minister.
The Fiji Law Society is the official body that registers and regulates the activity of all lawyers in Fiji. Historically, the President of the Fiji Law Society was a member ex officio of the Judicial Service Commission.
Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi, is a Fijian politician of Indian descent. He was one of the youngest members to be elected into Parliament in 1992. He has represented the Nadroga Indian Communal Constituency, which he won for the Fiji Labour Party (FLP) in the parliamentary elections of 1992, 1994, 1999, 2001, and 2006. After the 1999 election he was appointed Assistant Minister in Prime Minister's Office. He was appointed Minister for Youth and Sports and Employment Opportunities in the interim administration that followed the military coup that took place on 5 December 2006. He was born to a family of Rajasthani descent.
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.
General elections were held in Fiji on 17 September 2014, to select the 50 members of the Fijian parliament.
Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, born a Fijian politician and a Cabinet Minister, He is the General Secretary of the FijiFirst party. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum serves as a Governor at Asian Development Bank and has been its Chairman of Governor since 2018.
Jainendra Kumar is a Fijian civil servant and political leader of Indian descent. A former Director of Research in the Agriculture, Sugar and Land Resettlement Ministry, he served as a Rapporteur in the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2002. On 9 January 2007, he was appointed Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Primary Industries in the interim Cabinet of Commodore Frank Bainimarama. He was removed from office by the military government on 4 January 2008.
Netani Sukanaivalu is a Fijian academic, former naval officer, and political leader, who was appointed to the interim Cabinet as Minister for Education on 9 January 2006.
Fiji – United States relations have improved significantly since Fiji's elections in September 2014, which restored a democratically elected government to Fiji for the first time since 2006. The United States had opposed Fiji's unelected government, which came to power through a military coup in December 2006.
The Fijian constitutional crisis of 2009 began on Friday, 10 April 2009. Fijian President Ratu Josefa Iloilo announced on a nationwide radio broadcast that he was abrogating the Constitution of Fiji. He dismissed all judges and constitutional appointees and assumed all governance in the country after the Court of Appeal ruled that the government of Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama was illegal. Iloilo reinstalled Bainimarama as PM and his Cabinet members to their positions. He also instituted emergency rule which increased police powers and allowed media censorship.
