Mereia Taufa Vakatale, O.F. (1 February 1938 – 24 June 2023) was a Fijian politician and educator. She served in the

Cabinet of Fiji The Cabinet of Fiji is a Government body of Ministers appointed by the Prime Minister of Fiji and responsible to the Parliament of Fiji. The Cabinet's constitutional basis is sections 90 to 96 of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji. Cabinet consists of ...

under 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) during 1993–1995 and 1997–1999. In 1997, she became Fiji's first female

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Biography

Taufa Vakatale was born on 1 February 1938 on

Batiki Batiki (, also known as Mbatiki in English) is an island of Fiji belonging to the Lomaiviti Archipelago. The island is of volcanic origin, with a land area of about 12 square kilometers. To the north-east is Wakaya Island, to the east is Nairai, ...

in the

Lomaiviti Islands The Lomaiviti (pronounced ) archipelago of Fiji consists of seven main islands and a number of smaller ones. They cover a total area of , and had a population of 15,657 at the most recent census in 2017. The largest town, with a population of 1, ...

. Her parents were Alanieta Naucukidi and Mosese Vakatale, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister. She attended primary school on

Gau Island Gau (, also known as Ngau in English) is an island belonging to Fiji's Lomaiviti archipelago. Located at 18.00° S and 179.30 °E, it covers an area of , with a total shoreline that measures long, making it the fifth largest island in the Fijian ...

before enrolling in the first cohort of students at Adi Cakobau School, a government boarding school for girls on Fiji's main island,

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ; ) is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a plate tectonics, tectonically complex area betwe ...

, in 1948. She received the New Zealand School Certificate in 1954. Three years later, she became the first indigenous Fijian girl to pass the New Zealand University Entrance examination and upon graduating from the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

in 1963, the first Fijian woman to receive a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree. Vakatale returned to her boarding school, Adi Cakobau, as a teacher. She was the school principal from 1973 from 1979, making her the first indigenous Fijian woman to serve as a secondary school principal. She left the school to become a diplomat in 1980 and became the first indigenous Fijian woman appointed a deputy high commissioner. She held various positions in the civil service, particularly in the field of education, and became Chief Education Officer in 1983. Vakatale left the civil service in 1990. She ran for election in 1992 under the

(SVT) party ticket; she was elected and won a bid for re-election in 1994. Her win in 1992 made her the first Fijian woman elected as a cabinet minister. She was Minister of Education, Science and Technology from 1993 to 1995, but she was dismissed from her cabinet post in 1995 because, in contrast to the SVT's policies, she opposed French nuclear weapons testing in

Moruroa Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll i ...

Atoll in

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

. In 1997, she was appointed

and Minister of Education and Technology, and in 1999 she became the first female president of the SVT. Vakatale resigned from the SVT in 2000 in opposition to the coup d'état by i-Taukei nationalists which had removed then-Prime Minister

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 ...

from power. After retiring from politics, Vakatale worked in the private education sector. She 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 1996 and was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

degree by the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

in 2009. In 2012, she was selected as a member of the

Constitutional Commission A constitutional commission is a body of commissioners appointed by a government for the purpose of making or revising a constitution. The commissioners are typically experts. However, in a country governed by a military regime, the commissioner ...

headed by Yash Ghai. Vakatale died on 24 June 2023, at the age of 85.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vakatale, Taufa 1938 births 2023 deaths I-Taukei Fijian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei politicians Deputy prime ministers of Fiji Education ministers of Fiji Politicians from Lomaiviti Province 20th-century Fijian women politicians Fijian women educators Officers of the Order of Fiji University of Auckland alumni 20th-century Fijian educators 21st-century Fijian educators 20th-century Fijian politicians 21st-century Fijian politicians 21st-century Fijian women politicians