Stuart Huggett (died 10 September 2021) was a British-born Fijian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, businessman, and civil servant, who served as Chairman of the Public Service Commission from 2004 to 2006, when he was removed from office on 6 December 2006 by the

Military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

junta which had seized power the previous day. In addition, Huggett was a Director of Architects Pacific Limited,Architects Pacific
/ref> which is based in

Suva Suva (, ) is the Capital city, capital and the most populous city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rew ...

and in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia and the Honorary

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

for Spain. Huggett was born in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, England. He graduated from the Royal Western England College of Architecture, now the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

. After his marriage, he spent a year in

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

, Nigeria, during the

Nigerian civil war The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

in the late 1960s. He founded Architects Pacific Limited in 1971, which specialized in residential, commercial and tourist resort design and masterplanning. He also organised the Fiji Muroroa Protest in 1995.

2006 coup d'état

On 6 December 2006 Stuart Huggett, as Chairman of the Public Service Commission, called together a meeting of the CEOs of the various governmental ministries, including Nainendra Nand, the Solicitor-General of Fiji. Military forces broke up the meeting and detained Huggett and Nand, and there were unconfirmed reports that the two had been assaulted. A veiled statement by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Foreign Minister 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 r ...

, Alexander Downer, on the ABC television's 7:30 report gave some credence to the rumours. The Chairman and Solicitor General were served notice of dismissal by the Military Commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, on 7 December 2006. However the elected Government of Fiji gave no such notice to any governmental officials. Announcing the appointment of Hector Hatch as Huggett's successor on 4 January 2007, Commodore Bainimarama said that Huggett had been uncooperative with the Military authorities, and also claimed that he was under investigation for allegations that a company he was connected with had tendered for a F$40 million government contract.

Personal life

Huggett was married to Gillian Margaret Illife, with whom he had three daughters, Catharine, Alexandra and Amitia and a son, James.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huggett, Stuart 20th-century births 2021 deaths Alumni of the University of Bristol Architects from Bath, Somerset British emigrants to Fiji British expatriates in Nigeria Fijian businesspeople Fijian civil servants Year of birth missing Fijian people of British descent