Kaliopate Tavola (born 1946) 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 Agricultural economist,

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, who was his country's

Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

from 2000 to 2006. He was also Minister for External Trade and Minister for

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

Diplomatic career

A native of the small island of

Dravuni Dravuni (pronounced ) is a volcanic island in the Kadavu Group of islands in Fiji. Covering an area of , it is located at 18.78° South and 178.53° East, and reaches a maximum altitude of . The island is inhabited by approximately 125 people a ...

in the Kadavu

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the o ...

, Tavola was educated at Ratu Sukuna Memorial School and began his career in 1973 as an agricultural economist with the Ministry of

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. In 1984 he was posted to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

as a Counsellor with the Fijian High Commission; he concurrently represented the Fiji Sugar Marketing Company. He was transferred to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and appointed

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in 1988, and was accredited to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, as well as to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

and the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

. He remained in that position for ten years.

Political career

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Fiji, sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After Republic of Fiji Military Forces, the military quashed the 2 ...

appointed Tavola Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Interim Government that took office in July 2000, following a counter-coup which thwarted

George Speight George Speight (; born 1957), also known by his pseudonym Ilikimi Naitini, 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 sei ...

's putsch against the elected government of

Mahendra Chaudhry Mahendra Pal Chaudhry (; 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 beca ...

. In the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held to restore democracy in September 2001, Tavola was elected as a candidate of the ''

Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua The United Fiji Party (, , SDL) was a list of political parties in Fiji, political party in Fiji. It was founded in 2001 by Prime Minister of Fiji, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase as a power base; it absorbed most of the Christian Democratic Alli ...

'' to represent the Lami Open Constituency, and retained his Cabinet position subsequently. As Foreign Minister, Tavola had to defend Fiji's international image in the face of criticism from some countries of the government's perceived lenience towards perpetrators of the 2000 coup. He also had to deal with elements in his own government who have promoted relations with Taiwan (ROC), in defiance of his policy of fostering closer relations with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. A private visit by the Taiwanese

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian ( zh, t=陳水扁; born 12 October 1950) is a Taiwanese former politician and lawyer who served as the fifth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progres ...

, on 5 May 2005 was well received by many politicians, and on 16 May

Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

Solomone Naivalu defied Tavola's instructions by voting in favour of observer status for Taiwan at the

World Health Assembly The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 World Health Organization#Membership, member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of h ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, contrary to Tavola's instructions.

Retirement and reappointment

In an interview published on 2 February 2006 by ''Islands Business'', Tavola announced his decision not to contest the upcoming

2006 Fijian general election General elections were held in Fiji between 6 and 13 May 2006. The incumbent Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua government, led by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase, was re-elected for a third term in government, opposed by the Labour Party, led by ...

, citing his age, health, and family commitments. ''"Because of my other commitments in life and for family and health reasons ... I would be doing a disservice to myself and to the country if I stood in the coming general election,"'' he said. Prime Minister Qarase had attempted, unsuccessfully, to dissuade him from this decision, he revealed. He clarified on 23 February that he only wanted to rest, and was not interested in returning to the diplomatic service. Following the victory of the ruling SDL in the general election, Prime Minister Qarase persuaded Tavola to reverse his decision to retire from the Cabinet. As Cabinet Ministers are required to be members of one of the two Houses of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, he accepted the Prime Minister's invitation to become a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

as one of nine nominees of the Prime Minister. ''"I had my retirement worked out. I was going to start some consultancy work and all that,"'' he said in a ''

Fiji Live ''Fijilive'' is an online newspaper and business and cultural directory in Fiji. The site is owned by the Future Group of Companies owned by Fiji entrepreneur Yashwant Gaunder. ''Fijilive'' is one of Fiji's largest websites. The site rose to ...

'' interview published on 11 June 2006. ''"It was a last-minute approach to me by the Prime Minister to consider coming back into this important portfolio."'' The

news service claimed on 4 February that Tavola was Fiji's most popular politician. Following the

2000 Fijian coup d'état The 2000 Fijian coup d'état was a civilian coup d'état by an armed group of indigenous Fijian nationalists supported by the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit, against the elected government of Indo-Fijian Prime Minister Mahendra Chau ...

, Tavola was reportedly the only Ministerial candidate acceptable to both the

Republic of Fiji Military Forces The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF, formerly the Royal Fiji Military Forces until 1987 when the Dominion of Fiji was overthrown) is the military force of the Pacific Ocean, Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of about ...

and the rebels led by

. ''Fiji Live'' also claims that he remained the only

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

to retain the favour of the Military after relations between the government and the Military worsened from 2003 onwards. However, he still lost his post in the Cabinet, along with his fellow Ministers, in 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 ...

. Tavola currently serves on the board of the

Pacific Institute of Public Policy The Pacific Institute of Public Policy (PiPP) is an independent, non-profit, regionally focused think tank based in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The stated aim of PiPP is to stimulate and support informed policy debate in the Pacific. A central feature of ...

and is the first High Level Representative of the

Melanesian Spearhead Group The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is an intergovernmental organization, composed of the four Melanesian states of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia. In ...

(MSG).

Honours

In November 2014 he was made an Officer of the

Order of Fiji The Order of Fiji is the highest Order (honour), honour of the Fijian honours system. Established 1 March 1995, the order is presented for achievement and merit to Fiji and mankind as a whole. The order is divided into a general division and mili ...

. In October 2020 he was awarded the Fiji 50th Independence Anniversary Commemorative medal.

References

External links

Kaliopate Tavola's website on Dravuni history and culture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tavola, Kaliopate I-Taukei Fijian members of the Senate (Fiji) I-Taukei Fijian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Living people 1946 births Ambassadors of Fiji to France Ambassadors of Fiji to Belgium Ambassadors of Fiji to Spain Ambassadors of Fiji to Portugal Ambassadors of Fiji to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Fiji to Greece Permanent delegates of Fiji to UNESCO Permanent representatives of Fiji to the World Trade Organization Ministers for foreign affairs of Fiji Fijian economists Politicians from Dravuni Officers of the Order of Fiji 20th-century Fijian scientists 21st-century Fijian scientists