Filimone Jitoko (born 3 October 1949) 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 ...

an judge, diplomat, civil servant and an academic. He has been the Speaker of the

Parliament of Fiji The Parliament of the Republic of Fiji is the unicameral legislature of the Fiji, Republic of Fiji. It consists of 55 members elected every 4 years using open list proportional representation in one multi-member nationwide constituency. Hist ...

since 12 November 2024. Jitoko was born on 3 October 1949, in Kabara, Lau. He graduated from the University of South Pacific and got a bachelor of law degree from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

in 1978. He was admitted to the bar in Fiji in 1978. Jitoko served as legal advisor to 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 ...

from 1988 to 1994. He worked as the Solicitor-General of Fiji from 1993 to 1996. Then he served as Fiji’s ambassador to the court of St James in the United Kingdom and was also accredited to the Holy See, Denmark and Israel. He was later as puisne judge of the

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 ...

from 2002 to 2009. Jitoko was appointed as the Chief Justice of Nauru from 2017 to 2021. Then he served as president of the

Court of Appeal of Fiji The Court of Appeal of Fiji is one of three courts that were established by Chapter 9 of the 1997 Constitution, the others being the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal was a new institution established when the 1997 Constitut ...

from November 2023 to November 2024. Jitoko was elected as speaker of the

on 12 November 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jitoko, Filimone 1949 births Living people Fijian judges Fijian lawyers Speakers of the Parliament of Fiji Ambassadors of Fiji to the Holy See Ambassadors of Fiji to Denmark Ambassadors of Fiji to Israel High commissioners of Fiji to the United Kingdom Chief justices of Nauru Victoria University of Wellington alumni University of the South Pacific alumni Solicitors-general of Fiji