Fiji's overall situation by 2006 had deteriorated sharply, heightened by massive corruption and lawlessness [...]. On 14 December 2005, Bainimarama began an official visit to China, at the invitation of the People's Liberation Army. In March 2014 Bainimarama stepped down as the head of Fiji’s military in preparation for his candidacy in the September elections. In a televised address, Qarase agreed to put the three contentious bills on hold, review the appointment of Andrew Hughes as police commissioner (Bainimarama had demanded his dismissal), and give the police the option of discontinuing investigations into the commander's alleged acts of sedition. On May 19, 2000, a group led by disgruntled businessman George Speight overthrew the coalition government headed by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry. "[26] However, in 2012 Bainimarama's government abolished the Queen's Official Birthday holiday in Fiji[32] and replaced the Queen's image on Fiji's banknotes and coins with the Fijian coat of arms (themselves granted by royal warrant). Bainimarama was appointed Acting Chief of Staff on 10 November 1997, and was confirmed in this post on 18 April 1998. Military manoeuvres followed, including the seizure of government vehicles and the house arrest of Prime Minister Qarase. "[24], This was to be achieved, he declared, through a People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress, the stated aim of which was to "rebuild Fiji into a non-racial, culturally-vibrant and united, well-governed, truly democratic nation that seeks progress, and prosperity through merit-based equality of opportunity, and peace".[25]. [citation needed], On 25 April 2004, then-Opposition Leader Mick Beddoes called on the army to answer for its failure to protect President Mara while the country was in crisis. He went on to attend the Defence and Strategic Studies Annual Conference at the Australian Defence College in Canberra on 2 August, and the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at Harvard University in the United States from 18 to 30 August. This Fiji PM Trust Fund is not transparent and nor has it been audited by a truly independent agency. On March 1, 1999, he was appointed commodore and commander of all Fiji’s military forces. He relinquished command on 5 March 2014, to Brigadier-General Mosese Tikoitoga. The legacy of leadership, at both community and national levels, was a fractured nation. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). He takes a keen interest in military history and in current affairs. Three New Zealand journalists who were arrested on Wednesday and spent the night on the floor of a Fijian police station have received a personal apology from Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama. [9] President Ratu Josefa Iloilo then announced that he had abolished the constitution, assumed all governing power and revoked all judicial appointments. In January 2007 he restored executive powers to President Iloilo, who then named Bainimarama interim prime minister. In late November 2006, Bainimarama handed down a list of demands to Qarase, one of which was the withdrawal of three controversial bills, including the Qoliqoli Bill (which would have transferred ownership of maritime resources to the Fijian people) and the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which would have offered conditional pardons to persons convicted of involvement in the 2000 coup. The Champions were chosen for their transformative impact on the environment and their leadership in urging bold and decisive action on behalf of the planet and its inhabitants. He is commonly known as Frank Bainimarama and sometimes by the chief title Ratu. Bainimarama displays above his office desk portraits of Elizabeth II, former Queen of Fiji, and of her consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Bainimarama’s Fiji First party won just over 59 percent of the vote and an outright parliamentary majority in the September 17 elections. In 2007, he assumed office as Prime Minister of Fiji. I continue to support Frank Bainimarama as the one person who I believe is genuinely capable of unifying the country. He was instrumental in the rise to power of the government of the Prime Minister, Laisenia Qarase, but his intense criticism of the government's policy of showing leniency towards persons implicated in the coup later strained his relations with the regime, and on 5 December 2006, he overthrew the Qarase government and announced that he had "reluctantly" assumed the powers of the presidency. Fiji had seen four definitive coups in the past two decades. [27] The Fiji Trades Union Congress said the decree "offers major weapons to the employers to utilise against unions [...] It outlaws professional trade unionists, eliminates existing collective agreements, promotes a biased system of non-professional bargaining agents to represent workers, severely restricts industrial action, strengthens sanctions against legally striking workers and bans overtime payments and other allowances for workers in 24-hour operations". It was in his capacity as commander of the Armed Forces that Bainimarama assumed command on 29 May 2000. Nadi, FIJI – The UN has announced six laureates of the 2020 Champions of the Earth award, the UN’s highest environmental honour. Ratu Josefa Iloilo. Fiji's newly-elected prime Minister Frank Bainimarama leads a new-look 20-member cabinet. Fiji was still recovering from an even more powerful cyclone that hit in December. … "[26], Davis noted that Bainimarama had introduced greater ethnic diversity into senior positions, and suggested that "maybe that's what drives Bainimarama most of all; the notion, however quixotic, of a multiracial meritocracy belatedly fulfilling the great promise Fiji had in its early post-independence years, when a visiting pope John Paul II famously described it as a model for the developing world. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Bainimarama held onto power by winning the 2014 election, largely by dominating the information war and marginalizing critics, but at a consider-able cost to the notion of democracy in Fiji. He spoke out against the organising of Fiji Week, a week of religious services and cultural ceremonies, in which persons could apologise for their participation in the coup, that was held from 4 to 11 October 2004. Other websites. [citation needed], Bainimarama's detractors accused him of hypocrisy for vehemently opposing what he saw as the government's policy of leniency towards perpetrators of the 2000 coup, when there were unanswered questions about his own role in it. "The military will dish out the same fate we dealt George Speight and his group to anyone whom we think deserves this treatment," Bainimarama said. In November 2006 Bainimarama demanded the withdrawal of two bills, one of which included the power to grant amnesty to coup leaders; he also demanded the dismissal of the police commissioner, Australian Andrew Hughes. Fiji is the most diverse nation in the Pacific. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September 2007, he stated: "[I]n 1970, Fiji started its journey as a young nation on a rather shaky foundation, with a race-based Constitution, one which rigidly compartmentalised our communities. Acting: 5 January 2007 – 22 September 2014, Fijian political unrest and coup d'état, 2006, Essential National Industries Decree 2011, Asia Pacific Centre for Strategic Studies, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress, Essential National Industries (Employment) Decree 2011, "Fiji braced for protests after court ruling backs hardline leader", "President acted within power says Court | Radio FJ", "Fiji's Bainimarama steps down as PM – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)", "Bainimarama re-appointed Fiji's Prime Minister", Fiji coup leader Frank Bainimarama quits military post for poll run, "Fiji Times contributors warned by army – Fiji Times Online", "Fiji's military leader takes over country's finances", "Commander RFMF – Public Declaration of Military Takeover", "Statement by Bainimarama to the 62nd Session of the UN General Assembly", "Building a Better Fiji for All through a People's Charter for Change and Progress", Decree No.35 2011 – Essential National Industries (Employment) Decree 2011, "Union/govt face off: Decree deepens division", "Warning on Fiji government plan to severely restrict workers' rights", "Frank Bainimarama receives Companion of the Order of Fiji from President", "Ministers | Office of the Prime Minister Fiji", "Anger over plan to remove Queen from Fiji money", "Catholics support Methodists – Fiji Times Online", Bainimarama's speech, 5 December 2006: the stated reasons for the coup, Commodore Bainimarama's address to the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, Commodore Bainimarama's address to the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frank_Bainimarama&oldid=1007626110, I-Taukei Fijian members of the Parliament of Fiji, People educated at Marist Brothers High School, Fiji, Articles with dead external links from March 2017, Articles with dead external links from September 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia articles in need of updating from November 2020, All Wikipedia articles in need of updating, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2011, BLP articles lacking sources from December 2011, Articles with unsourced statements from June 2010, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2016, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Attorney General and Minister for Economy, Civil Service and Communications, Minister for Rural, Maritime Development and Disaster Management and  Minister for Defence, National Security and Policing, Minister for Employment, Productivity, Industrial Relations, Youth and Sports, Minister for  Infrastructure and Meteorological Services and Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, Minister for Education, Heritage and Arts, Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment, Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation, Minister for Local Government, Housing and Community Development, Minister for Commerce, Trade, Tourism & Transport, This page was last edited on 19 February 2021, at 02:41.