The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) is the military force of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of 3,500 active soldiers and 6,000 reservists, it is one of the smallest militaries in the world, though most of its surrounding island nations have no militaries at all. The Ground Force is organised into six infantry and one engineer battalions, with approximately 6,000 reserves. There was formerly one "Zulu" company of counter-revolutionary specialists, which was deactivated in late 2000 due to a mutiny by some of its members.
George Speight (['speːt]), occasionally known as Ilikini Naitini, is a Fijian businessman. He was the leader of the Fiji coup of 2000, in which he and an elite unit of Fiji's military detained thirty-six members of parliament and held them hostage from May 19, 2000 to July 13, 2000. He is serving life imprisonment for his role in the coup. He was detained in Nukulau island before being sentenced.
Kim Christian Beazley is an Australian politician who is currently Governor of Western Australia. He was previously Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 1995 to 1996, Leader of the Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, and Ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2016. He served in multiple roles in the Hawke and Keating Governments from 1983 to 1996.
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.
Ratu Inoke Kubuabola is a Fijian politician and Cabinet Minister. He is the former leader of the opposition and Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Major General Sir Neville Reginald Howse, was an Australian Army officer, medical doctor, and politician. He was the first Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces.
Rear Admiral Peter Ross Sinclair, is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy who served as the 35th Governor of New South Wales from 8 August 1990 to 1 March 1996. Born in Manly, New South Wales, he was educated North Sydney Boys High School before joining the navy through the Royal Australian Naval College.
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.
David Ian Feeney is a former Australian politician. He was the Labor member for the division of Batman in the House of Representatives from 7 September 2013 to 1 February 2018. Before that, he was a member of the Australian Senate for Victoria from 2008 until his resignation to contest Batman. Feeney resigned as a member of Parliament on 1 February 2018 as he was unable to produce any documentary evidence disproving he was a dual citizen, which is a breach of section 44 of the Constitution of Australia.
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.
Commodore Esala Teleni was a Fijian naval officer, who served the military-backed interim government as Commissioner of the Fiji Police Force from 1 July 2007 to mid-2010. He then served as Fiji's Ambassador to China till 2014 and the Fijian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea.
Vitalie Marinuţa is a Moldovan politician and former military officer who served as Minister of Defense of Moldova between 25 September 2009 and 27 February 2014.
Ihor Yosypovych Tenyukh is a former Ukrainian admiral and member of the nationalist Svoboda political party. He was the commander of the Ukrainian Navy from 2006 until 2010 when dismissed by Viktor Yanukovych. Tenyukh fully supported the 2013-2014 uprising, and was appointed Minister of Defense of Ukraine in February 2014. After and because of accusations of indecision in the face of the Russian invasion of Crimea, he resigned on 25 March 2014.
Joeli Ratulevu Cawaki is a Fijian politician and former Assistant Minister and Member of the Parliament of Fiji.
Dr. Mahendra Reddy is a Fijian politician and Member of the Parliament of Fiji. He is currently the Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment.
Lt Col Pio Tikoduadua is a Fijian politician, Member of the Parliament of Fiji, and former cabinet Minister. He is a member of the National Federation Party.
Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka is a former career soldier who joined the Army in 1981 and was commissioned after attending an Officers commissioning course in Fiji. He was briefly the Acting Land Force Commander in January 2006. He was dismissed from this position on 13 January 2006, after only two days in the post. He disagreed with the Commander on issues affecting the Military and attempted to shut out the Commander from the barracks. His attempt to rally the troops to his cause failed; they saw it as a coup attempt against the Commander and withheld their support for his actions. Baledrokadroka was dismissed as a result. Prior to his appointment as Acting Land Force Commander, Baledrokadroka had attended the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the Australian Defence College, Canberra,in 2003.
Howard Robin Thomas Politini Jnr (MP) is a Fijian politician and Member of the Parliament of Fiji. He is a member of the FijiFirst party.
Inia Batikoto Seruiratu is a Fijian politician and Member of the Parliament of Fiji for the FijiFirst Party. He is currently the Minister for Rural, Maritime Development and Disaster Management and Minister for Defence, National Security and Policing.
The Fijian Navy was created when Fiji ratified the recently created United Nations Convention on Laws of the Sea. The Convention established that maritime nation had an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 kilometres, which extended Fiji's waters twentyfold, from 50,000 square miles (130,000 km2) to over 1,000,000 square miles (2,600,000 km2).
