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 ...

'' Epenisa Seru Cakobau (pronounced ) (born ~) is 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 ...

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

and politician. Cakobau is a senior member of the ''

Tui Kaba Tui or TUI may refer to: Places * Tui, Pontevedra, Spain * Tui, Iran, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Tui, North Khorasan, North Khorasan Province, Iran * Tui Province, Burkina Faso * Tui railway station, New Zealand Computing * Tangible use ...

'' clan. He is the 13th ''Vunivalu'' of Bau.

Biography

He is the son of former

Governor-General of Fiji The governor-general of Fiji was the representative of the Fijian monarch in the Dominion of Fiji from the country's independence in 1970 until the monarchy's deposition in 1987. History Fiji became a sovereign state and adopted an independe ...

and ''Vunivalu'' ''Ratu''

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

George Cakobau ''Ratu'' Sir George Kadavulevu Cakobau (6 November 1912 – 25 November 1989) was a Fijian statesman and athlete. A great-grandson of ''Ratu'' Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the paramount chief of Bau who had unified all the tribes of Fiji under his ...

, and a great-great grandson of ''Ratu''

Seru Epenisa Cakobau ''Ratu'' Seru Epenisa Cakobau (; occasionally spelled ''Cacobau'') (c.1815 – 1 February 1883) was a Fijian chief, monarch, and warlord ('' Vunivalu'') who united part of Fiji's warring tribes, establishing a Fijian kingdom. He served as i ...

, the warlord who established the first unified Fiji and became its

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, ...

in 1871. Cakobau has been involved in

politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

; he was elected to the

House of Representatives of Fiji The House of Representatives was the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament from 1970 to 2006. It was the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone had the power to initiate legislation (the Senate, by contrast, could amend or veto most legislat ...

in the

1999 Fijian general election 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

as a candidate of the ''

Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei The Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT), occasionally known in English as Fijian Political Party, was a party which dominated the politics of Fiji in the 1990s and was the mainstay of coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people ...

'' (SVT), representing the open constituency of Tailevu South Lomaiviti. When the Conservative Alliance, a

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

political party was founded in 2001, Cakobau was chosen as its first president. In 2007 when the military regime suspended the

Great Council of Chiefs The Great Council of Chiefs () is a Fijian constitutional body. It previously existed from 1876 to March 2012 and was restored in May 2023. It is different from the House of Chiefs, a larger body that includes all hereditary chiefs, although m ...

in the aftermath of the

2006 Fijian coup d'état The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 was a coup d'état in Fiji carried out by Commodore (rank), Commodore Frank Bainimarama against Prime Minister of Fiji, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and President Josefa Iloilo. It was the culminatio ...

, Cakobau was part of a legal challenge to the suspension. He later opposed the military regime's

People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress The People's Charter for Change, Peace and Progress (initially, People's Charter for Change and Progress) was a proposed legal document which would have complemented the 1997 Constitution of Fiji. It would have established compulsory guidelines f ...

. In 2018, he was arrested to prevent a ceremony to install him as the ''Vunivalu'' of Bau. In July 2019 he revealed that he had relocated his family overseas after receiving death threats over the title. In July 2020, he was elected president of the

Social Democratic Liberal Party The Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) is a Fijian political party. The party was formed in January 2013 after the dissolution of the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua. History Party foundation In January 2013 Fiji's military regime p ...

. He remained with SODELPA when

Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician, sportsman, and former soldier who has been serving as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was de ...

split from the party. His term as president expired in 2022, and he was replaced by Manoa Roragaca. In March 2023, he was installed as ''Vunivalu'' of Bau.

Personal life

He married ''

Adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Abbreviations * Acceptable daily intake, in health and medicine * Acting detective inspector, a type of police inspector * Africa Development Indicators, a compilation of data assembled by the World Bank * Alternating ...

'' Frances Loloma in September 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cakobau, Epenisa Fijian chiefs Living people Year of birth missing (living people) I-Taukei Fijian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Conservative Alliance-Matanitu Vanua politicians Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei politicians Politicians from Bau (island) Vunivalu of Bau