Satya N. Nandan, CF,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(July 10, 1936 – February 25, 2020), was a diplomat and lawyer from Fiji specializing in ocean affairs, was Chairman of the

Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western world, countries tha ...

, where he served a two-year term commencing 1 January 2009.Fiji’s Satya Nandan is new chair of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
Pacific Islands News Association, 12 December 2008. Previously, he was the first Secretary-General of the

International Seabed Authority The International Seabed Authority (ISA; ) is a Kingston, Jamaica-based intergovernmental body of 167 member states and the European Union. It was established under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its 1994 Agreement o ...

, a position he held for three consecutive four-year terms from March 1996 until December 2008. Ambassador Nandan was a Fiji Indian who held a law degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

and was a Barrister-at-Law of Lincoln's Inn,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was also a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Fiji. He was a representative of Fiji at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(1970–76 and 1993–95) and was Fiji's Ambassador to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

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 ...

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 ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

(1976-1980). He served as Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Fiji.

Accomplishments

Ambassador Nandan has had an extensive career in international relations, both as representative of his country and head of several intergovernmental bodies. Some of his numerous positions include: *Representative of Fiji to

committees on decolonization, disarmament, legal and political matters. *Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Law of the Sea (1983-1992). *Chairman of the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (1993–95). *Chairman of the Multilateral High Level Conference, which negotiated the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (1997-2000). *President of the meeting of the States Parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1994-1996). *Head of the Fiji delegation to the Seabed Committee of the United Nations (1970-1973) and to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (1973-1982). *Chairman of UNCLOS working groups on the

Exclusive Economic Zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

delimitation Electoral boundary delimitation (or simply boundary delimitation or delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries of electoral precincts and related divisions involved in elections, such as Federated state, states, counties or other municipalities ...

maritime boundaries A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of Earth's water surface areas using physical geography, physiographical or human geography, geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive sovereignty, national rights over mine ...

and the high seas (1975). *Chairman of Negotiating Group 4 of the Conference, which dealt with the participation by landlocked and geographically disadvantaged States in the exploitation of the living resources of the neighbouring exclusive economic zones. *Chairman of an UNCLOS group on production policy relating to deep seabed mining. *Chairman of the

Group of 77 The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of developing country, developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. T ...

developing States (1978-1979). *Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP) to the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

(EEC) in Brussels. He participated in the negotiations for Lome I, II and III Conventions between the ACP Group of States and the EEC. *General Editor and Co-Author of the Law of the Sea Commentary series ("

Virginia Commentary Virginia Commentary is an informal title of a document, the ''United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982: A Commentary'', providing an account of the negotiations and analysis of the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea conve ...

"), published by the Center for Oceans Law and Policy of the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

. *Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the

United Nations International School The United Nations International School (UNIS) is a private international school in New York City which was established in 1947. Many members of the United Nations staff arriving with young families found unexpected difficulties with the school s ...

in New York (1996-2001). *Distinguished Senior Fellow, Center for Oceans Law and Policy,

. *Distinguished Visitor and Speaker, Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore (March–April 2015).

Awards

Ambassador Nandan was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

, Halifax, Nova Scotia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

(2012), an honorary Doctorate by 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 ...

(1996) and an honorary Doctor of Laws by the Memorial University of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

(1995). He was accorded the rank of

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in 1978 and was awarded Fiji's highest honour, Companion of the Order of Fiji (CF), in 1997. He was honoured with the award of the Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

by the President of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

(1996). He was married and has one son.

References

External sources

Satya N. Nandan: Biographical Note.
International Seabed Authority, Press Release SB/10/14, 2 June 2004.
Curriculum Vitae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nandan, Satya 1936 births 2020 deaths Alumni of the University of London Fijian Hindus Permanent representatives of Fiji to the United Nations Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Companions of the Order of Fiji Ambassadors of Fiji to the European Union Ambassadors of Fiji to Belgium Ambassadors of Fiji to France Ambassadors of Fiji to Italy Ambassadors of Fiji to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Fiji to the Netherlands International Seabed Authority people 20th-century Fijian lawyers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of Lincoln's Inn Fijian people of Indian descent