Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto is a Fijian politician and former

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 soldier. He is the current Minister for Immigration. He was a former

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 ...

under the FijiFirst government. After serving as Commander of the

Republic of Fiji Navy The Republic of Fiji Navy or Fijian Navy is the navy, naval branch of the Fiji, Republic of Fiji Republic of Fiji Military Forces, Military Forces. Formerly known as the Royal Fijian Navy, it was established after Fiji ratified the recently create ...

, he was appointed as a Minister in the military regime of dictator

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (; born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his c ...

. He was later appointed commander of 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 ...

, before being elected to 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 ...

in December 2022. He joined the Republic of Fiji Military Forces in 1982 and served in the Fiji Navy. In 1994 he was the Captain of the newly commissioned RFNS ''Kula''. During his time in the military, he served as the Commander of Fiji Navy, Director Finance and Logistics and Commander. While serving as Navy Commander, Naupoto was arrested drink-driving. His case file subsequently went missing from the Nabua police station, but was eventually found, and he was convicted and fined US$100. Following 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 ...

Naupoto was appointed Director of Immigration by the military, and was responsible for placing travel bans on the regime's opponents. He also deported legal representatives of regime opponents. After being sent to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

for training, he was appointed Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, and then chair of the

Fiji Trade and Investment Board 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 ...

and Permanent Secretary of the Department of Fisheries and Forests. In February 2012 he was appointed Minister of Youth and Sports in the military cabinet. Naputo was selected as a

FijiFirst FijiFirst (FF, ; ) was a liberal political party in Fiji. The party was formed in March 2014 by then Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. It was deregistered on 1 July 2024. Formation and history The party was launched on 31 March 2014 with Bai ...

candidate for the

2014 Fijian general election General elections were held in Fiji on 17 September 2014 to select the 50 members of Parliament.

, but not elected. Following the election he returned to the military, serving as chief of staff. Following the sudden resignation of RFMF Commander

Mosese Tikoitoga Brigadier Mosese Tikoitoga (died 29 December 2023) was a Fijian soldier and diplomat, who served as Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces from 2014 to 2015. Tikoitoga was educated at the University of Canberra, gaining a Masters in ...

in August 2015 he was appointed acting commander. The appointment was made permanent in March 2016. In November 2015 he was promoted to Rear Admiral. When Jioji Konrote was elected

President of Fiji The president of Fiji is the List of heads of state of Fiji, head of state of the Fiji, Republic of Fiji. The president is appointed by the Parliament of Fiji, Parliament for a three-year term under the terms of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji, ...

in October 2015, Naupoto became eligible for a seat in Parliament as his replacement, but turned it down to stay in the military. He retired from the RFMF in March 2021, and was replaced as RFMF Commander by

Jone Kalouniwai Jone Logavatu Kalouniwai is a major general in the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) who currently serves as the commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces since 16 September 2021. Previously named as director general of National ...

in September 2021. He was selected again as a

candidate for the 2022 election, and was elected with 830 votes. Following the election he was appointed as chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee. On November 2014 Naupoto 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 ...

. Following the collapse and deregistration of FijiFirst he remained in parliament as an independent, but said that he would support the government of

Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician, sportsman, and former soldier who has been serving as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was de ...

. He was subsequently appointed chief whip of the opposition Group of 9 Bloc. On 10 January 2025, he was sworn as Minister of Immigration under Rabuka's government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naupoto, Viliame Living people Year of birth missing (living people) I-Taukei Fijian people Fijian civil servants Fijian Navy officers Fijian military leaders Government ministers of Fiji Members of the Parliament of Fiji FijiFirst politicians Officers of the Order of Fiji