Fijian Association Party
The Fijian Association Party (FAP) is a former political party in Fiji. It played a significant role in Fijian politics throughout the 1990s, but lost all of its seats in the House of Representatives in the parliamentary election of 2001. The FAP was founded in 1994 by Josefata Kamikamica, head of the Native Land Trust Board and a former Minister of Finance. Following the parliamentary election of 1992, Kamikamica and five of his supporters had left the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei of Sitiveni Rabuka and unsuccessfully challenged him for the Prime Ministership, attempting to build a coalition government with the Indo-Fijian opposition. The party won five seats in the general election of 1994, which was called three years early because of political instability. Following Kamikamica's death from cancer in 1996, ''Ratu'' Finau Mara (the son of then- President ''Ratu Sir'' Kamisese Mara) took over the leadership. In 1998, he was replaced by ''Adi'' Kuini Speed, t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Political Parties In Fiji
This article lists political parties in Fiji. Prior to the 2006 Fijian coup d'état Fiji had a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party had a chance of gaining power alone, forcing parties to work with each other to form coalition governments. In January 2013 the military regime promulgated new regulations governing the registration of political parties. Parties are required to have 5,000 financial members, obey a code of conduct, and be named in the English language. The existing 16 registered parties were required to re-register under the new rules, but only two – the Fiji Labour Party and the National Federation Party – did so. The rest were dissolved on 15 February 2013 and their assets forfeited to the government. Current parties Registered parties Historical parties Political parties that have played a pivotal role in the past, but are now defunct. * All Nationals Congress – formerly a multiracial party. Split, with some joining th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kuini Speed
Adi Kuini Teimumu Vuikaba Speed (23 December 1949 – 31 December 2004) was a Fijian chief and politician, who served as Deputy Prime Minister in 1999 and 2000. She was the head girl at Adi Cakobau School in 1968, and went on to graduate from the University of the South Pacific and from the Australian National University in Canberra. She subsequently pursued a career in the Public Relations Office, which later became the Ministry of Information. On behalf of the Fiji Public Service Association, she led several delegations to the United Nations. Political career The widow of Fiji Labour Party founder and former Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, Adi Kuini became the leader of the Labour Party after her husband's death in 1989, but resigned in 1991 to take up residence for a few years in Canberra, Australia. She was succeeded by Mahendra Chaudhry as leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Adi Kuini returned to Fiji in 1994 and became leader of the Fijian Association Party (FAP) ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Speight
George Speight (born 1957) is a Fijian businessman and politician who was the leader of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, in which he and rebel soldiers from Fiji's Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit seized the Fijian Parliament and held Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and 35 other MP's hostage from 19 May 2000 to 13 July 2000. After being convicted of treason for leading the coup, he is currently serving a sentence of life imprisonment. Speight is the son of politician Sam Speight, the brother of politician Samisoni Tikoinasau and the uncle of rugby player Henry Speight. Personal life Speight was born in Naivicula, Fiji, and educated at Suva Grammar School. before studying marketing in Australia and business at Andrews University in the United States. After graduating he worked in Australia as a bank clerk for Metway Bank, and was involved in the Wattle Group pyramid scheme. After returning to Fiji in 1996 he worked as an insurance broker for Heaths Insurance Group. In 1998 he w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2000 Fijian Coup D'état
The Fiji coup d'état of 2000 was a civilian coup d'état by hardline i-Taukei (ethnic Fijian) nationalists against the elected government of an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry on 19 May 2000. This was followed by an attempt on 27 May by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority, and then by a military coup on 29 May by Republic of Fiji Military Forces Commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama. The coups resulted in the removal of the elected government and its replacement by an interim regime headed by Josefa Iloilo. In March 2001 the Court of Appeal of Fiji ruled that the coups and interim regime were illegal. An elected government was finally restored by the 2001 Fijian general election. Background The 1999 Fijian general election saw a resounding victory for the People's Coalition, a multiracial grouping of the Fiji Labour Party, Fijian Association Party, National Unity Party and Christian Democratic Alliance. The coalition won ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tu'uakitau Cokanauto
Ratu Cokanauto Tu'uakitau (born 5 June 1945) is a Fijian chief and politician. He is the scion of a distinguished family, as a son of Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau (a former Deputy Prime Minister and one of modern Fiji's founding fathers), and brother of Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, who has served as President of Fiji since 2009. The 1999 election and aftermath In the parliamentary election of 1999, Cokanauto, a candidate of the Fijian Association Party (FAP), won the Tailevu North Ovalau Open constituency on a recount, having failed to win on the initial count by a mere two votes. Although the FAP was part of the victorious People's Coalition, Cokanauto was not included in the new Cabinet announced by Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry. Following disagreements over the party's nominations to the Senate and the style of leadership, Cokanauto challenged Deputy Prime Minister and Fijian Affairs Minister Adi Kuini Speed for the leadership of the party on 11 September 1999. He initially ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Backbencher
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " rank and file". The term dates from 1855. The term derives from the fact that they sit physically behind the frontbench in the House of Commons. A backbencher may be a new parliamentary member yet to receive high office, a senior figure dropped from government, someone who for whatever reason is not chosen to sit in the government or an opposition spokesperson (such as a shadow cabinet if one exists), or someone who prefers to be a background influence, not in the spotlight. By extension, those who are not reliable supporters of all of their party's goals and policies and have resigned or been forced to resign may be relegated to the back benches. For example, in British political events, Clive Lewis became a backbencher after resign ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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High Court Of Fiji
The High Court of Fiji is one of three courts that was established by Chapter 9 of the 1997 Constitution of Fiji — the others being the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The Constitution empowered Parliament to create other courts; these were to be subordinate to the High Court, which was authorized to oversee all proceedings of such courts. The High Court had unlimited original jurisdiction to hear and determine any civil or criminal proceedings under any law and such other original jurisdiction as is conferred on it under the Constitution. The High Court consists of the Chief Justice and at least ten (and no more than eighteen) puisne judges. Parliament may also allow for junior judges, called Masters of the High Court, to sit on the High Court. Section 129 of the Constitution declares that ''"A judge who has sat in a trial of a matter that is the subject of appeal to a higher court must not sit in the appeal."'' As the membership of the High Court overlaps to a large ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fijians
Fijians ( fj, iTaukei, lit=Owners (of the land)) are a nation and ethnic group native to Fiji, who speak Fijian and share a common history and culture. Fijians, or ''iTaukei'', are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. Indigenous Fijians are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown. Later they would move onward to other surrounding islands, including Rotuma, as well as blending with other (Polynesian) settlers on Tonga and Samoa. They are indigenous to all parts of Fiji except the island of Rotuma. The original settlers are now called "Lapita people" after a distinctive pottery produced locally. Lapita pottery was found in the area from 800 BCE onward. As of 2005, indigenous Fijians constituted slightly more than half of the total Fijian population. Indigenous Fijians are predominantly of Melanesian extraction, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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People's Coalition (Fiji)
The People's Coalition was an alliance of three political parties in Fiji, formed in March 1999 to contest the parliamentary election to be held in May that year. The three parties were the Fiji Labour Party (FLP), led by Mahendra Chaudhry, the Fijian Association Party (FAP), led by Adi Kuini Speed, and the Party of National Unity (PANU), led by Apisai Tora. Campaigning against the SVT- NFP- UGP coalition supporting the incumbent Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, the People's Coalition won a landslide victory, taking 52 of the 71 seats in the House of Representatives. Of these, 37 seats were from Chaudhry's FLP, and, despite protests from the FAP, Chaudhry was sworn in as Fiji's first ethnic Indo-Fijian Prime Minister. A fourth party, the Christian Democratic Alliance (VLV), joined the coalition after the election. All members of the coalition had defections both before and after the coup d'état which deposed the Chaudhry government in May 2000. All except the FLP disapp ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1999 Fijian General Election
General elections were held in Fiji between 8 and 15 May 1999.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p653 They were the first election held under the revised Constitution of 1997, which instituted a new electoral system and resulted in Mahendra Chaudhry taking office as Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister. Results Mahendra Chaudhry's Fiji Labour Party won all 19 Indo-Fijian seats, annihilating the National Federation Party which had traditionally been Fiji's dominant Indo-Fijian party; Indo-Fijian voters were angered by the NFP's decision to enter into an electoral coalition agreement with the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei of Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, whom they had not forgiven for leading the military coup that removed an Indo-Fijian dominated government from power in 1987. In addition to the 19 Indo-Fijian seats, the Labour Party won 18 of the 25 "open electorates" for a total of 37 - an absolu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mahendra Chaudhry
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry ( hif, महेन्द्र पाल चौधरी; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, the former trade union leader became Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister on 19 May 1999, but exactly one year later, on 19 May 2000 he and most of his Cabinet were taken hostage by coup leader George Speight, in the Fiji coup of 2000. Unable to exercise his duties, he and his ministers were sacked by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on 27 May; Mara intended to assume emergency powers himself but was himself deposed by the military leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama. After 56 days in captivity, Chaudhry was released on 13 July and subsequently embarked on a tour of the world to rally support. He was one of the leading voices raised in opposition to the Qarase government's proposed Reconciliation and Unity Commis ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence. Sometimes, the term 'half-colonel' is used in casual conversation in the British Army. In the United States Air Force, the term 'light bird' or 'light bird colonel' (as opposed to a 'full bird colonel') is an acceptable casual reference to the rank but is never used directly towards the rank holder. A lieutenant colonel is typically in charge of a battalion or regiment in the army. The following articles deal with the rank of lieutenant colonel: * Lieutenant-colonel (Canada) * Lieutenant colonel (Eastern Europe) * Lieutenant colonel (Turkey) * Lieutenant colonel (Sri Lanka) * Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom) * ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |