Ratu ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to r ...

'' Sir Edward Tuivanuavou Tugi Cakobau (21 December 1908 – 25 June 1973) was a

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

an chief, soldier, politician and cricketer. He was a member of the Fijian legislature from 1944 until his death, also serving as Minister for Commerce, Industry and Labour and

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

. During the 1940s he made two appearances for the Fiji national cricket team.

Biography

Cakobau was born in December 1908, the son of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

George Tupou II of

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

and his mistress Adi Litia Cakobau, who was a granddaughter of Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the first King of Fiji. He was a half-brother of Queen Salote Tupou III of Tonga. He was educated at Wanganui Technical College between 1923 and 1928, and then Auckland Technical College. Whilst in New Zealand, he played a single first-class match for

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in the 1930–31

Plunket Shield New Zealand has had a domestic first-class cricket championship since the 1906–07 season. Since the 2009–10 season it has been known by its original name of the Plunket Shield. History The Plunket Shield competition was instigated in Octo ...

and later made two first-class appearances for

in 1948 against

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

and Auckland. He later attended

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

to study colonial administration. Cakobau returned to Fiji and worked as a schoolteacher. He later became a civil servant, starting as a clerk in the Native Affairs Department and rising to become Deputy Secretary for Fijian Affairs. He was one of Fiji's representatives at the coronation of

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

in 1937. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in the Solomon Islands, for which he was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

. In

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

he was appointed to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

as one of the five nominated Fijian members. He later returned to military service during the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

, serving in Malaya in 1953 and 1954, during which he became commanding officer of the Fiji Battalion. He was awarded the OBE for his service in Malaya, and was given a CBE in the 1966 Birthday Honours. Cakobau continued to be nominated to the Legislative Council until the 1966 elections, when he elected unopposed in the Fijian Central cross-voting constituency. Following the elections, he was appointed Member for Commerce, Industry and Tourism. In 1967 he became Minister for Commerce, Industry and Labour. He was knighted in the 1971 New Year Honours.Custom's rebirth at chiefly funeral
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1973, pp10–11 In the 1972 elections he ran for the Fijian seat in the Suva East national constituency and was elected to the House of Representatives. He was subsequently appointed

by Kamisese Mara. Cakobau died on 25 June 1973,Death of Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', July 1973, p15 and was buried on Bau on 29 June. He had four sons; the eldest, Viliame Dreunimisimisi (1937–2000) was responsible for the first

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

in the South Pacific and served as Minister for Tourism and Agriculture. The second son, Epeli Nailatikau was also a politician, serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives and later President. His third son,

Tu'uakitau Cokanauto ''Ratu'' Cokanauto Tu'uakitau (5 June 1945 – 13 September 2023) was a Fijian Ratu, chief and politician. He was the scion of a distinguished family, as a son of Edward Cakobau, Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau (a former Deputy Prime Minister and one ...

was also a minister; the fourth son was Keni Vuiyasawa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cakobau, Edward Fijian chiefs Fijian knights Tui Kaba Tongan royalty 1908 births People educated at Whanganui City College Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Auckland cricketers Fijian cricketers Fijian soldiers Fijian military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Military Cross Colony of Fiji people 20th-century Fijian educators Fijian civil servants British Army personnel of the Malayan Emergency Members of the Legislative Council of Fiji Members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Politicians from Bau (island) Alliance Party (Fiji) politicians Deputy prime ministers of Fiji Trade ministers of Fiji Industry ministers of Fiji Labour ministers of Fiji 1973 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Biography

See also

References