Biman Prasad is a Fijian politician and economist who has served as the leader of the

National Federation Party The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party. Though it claimed to represent all Fiji Islanders, it was supported, in p ...

since 2014, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance since 2022.

Early life and education

Prasad was born in Dreketi in

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonicall ...

and was educated at Muanidevo Indian School, Dreketi Junior Secondary School and Labasa College. After graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in mathematics and economics from the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...

, he pursued a Masters of Commerce from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = ...

. He married Rajni Chand in 1986. They have two children.

Academic career

Prasad became a lecturer at the

in 1986. He was President of the USP staff Association from 1999 - 2006, head of the School of Economics from 2003 to 2007, and Professor of Economics and Dean of the faculty of Business and Economics from 2007 to 2011. He is Associate Editor of the '' Journal of Fijian Studies'' and Editor-in-Chief of the '' Journal of Pacific Studies''. Professor Prasad has published several books and journal articles. He has done consultancy work for many regional and international agencies and governments in the South Pacific region. In April 2014, Prasad resigned as Professor of Economics from the University of the South Pacific to pursue a political career. He continues to hold Adjunct Professorships at the

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asia ...

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

and

Punjabi University Punjabi University is a collegiate state public university located in Patiala, Punjab, India. It was established on 30 April 1962 and is only the second university in the world to be named after a language, after Hebrew University of Israel. ...

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the '' Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') constru ...

, India. Political ideology Prasad's political ideology leans towards one of social democratic participation of people in legislative affairs. The National Federation Party which Prasad is the current leader of has historically been based around values of progressivism.

Political career

Prasad stood as a candidate for the

in the 1999 election, but was unsuccessful. In 2001, he was nominated as President of the party, but declined. In March 2014 Prasad was elected as leader of the NFP. He competed in the 2014 election, winning 8,097 votes, the fourth highest-ranked candidate. His party received 5.2 percent of the popular vote and 3 of the 50 parliamentary seats. Prasad subsequently became the ''Shadow Minister for Finance, Planning and National Statistic''s and ''Chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee''. He was re-elected at the 2018 elections, winning 12,137 votes. On 25 July 2021 Prasad was arrested by Fijian police after criticising government moves to amend land legislation. On 24 December 2022 he was appointed a Deputy Prime Minister (one of three) and Minister for Finance, Strategic Planning, National Developments, and Statistics in the coalition government of

Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician who has served as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was democratically elected as Prime Minis ...

Notes

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Prasad, Biman Indian members of the Parliament of Fiji National Federation Party politicians Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of New South Wales alumni University of Queensland alumni University of the South Pacific alumni University of the South Pacific faculty Politicians from Labasa Deputy Prime Ministers of Fiji Finance Ministers of Fiji