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Fiji | |||||||||
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| 1970–1987 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
| Motto: "Rerevaka na Kalou ka Doka na Tui" "Fear God and honour the Queen" | |||||||||
| Anthem: God Bless Fiji | |||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||
| Capital | Suva 18°10′S178°27′E / 18.167°S 178.450°E /-18.167; 178.450 | ||||||||
| Government | Unitaryparliamentary constitutional monarchy | ||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
• 1970–1987 | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Governor-General | |||||||||
• 1970–1973 | SirRobert Sidney Foster | ||||||||
• 1973–1983 | Ratu SirGeorge Cakobau | ||||||||
• 1983–1987 | Ratu SirPenaia Ganilau | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1970–1987 | Ratu SirKamisese Mara | ||||||||
• 1987 | Timoci Bavadra | ||||||||
| Legislature | Parliament | ||||||||
| Senate | |||||||||
| House of Representatives | |||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||
• Independence | 10 October 1970 | ||||||||
• Republic proclaimed | 6 October 1987 | ||||||||
| Currency | Fijian dollar | ||||||||
| Calling code | 679 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Fiji | ||||||||
Part ofa series on the |
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| History ofFiji |
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| Early history |
| Modern history |
| Coup of 2000 |
| Proposed Reconciliation Commission |
| Crisis of 2005–2006 |
| Coup of 2006 |
Fiji,[a] also known as theDominion of Fiji, was an independent state from 1970 to 1987, aCommonwealth realm[3][4][5] in which theBritish monarch,Elizabeth II, remained head of state asQueen of Fiji, represented by theGovernor-General. The state was the successor of the BritishColony of Fiji which was given independence in October 1970 and it survived until theRepublic of Fiji was proclaimed on 6 October 1987 after twomilitary coups, at which time Queen Elizabeth II was removed as head of state, albeit, without any consent from the people of Fiji themselves.
During this time, Fiji's highest court was theJudicial Committee of the Privy Council, which was above theSupreme Court of Fiji in the Fijian judicial system.
After theSecond World War, Fiji began to take its first steps towards internal self-government. TheLegislative Council was expanded to 32 members in 1953, 15 of them elected and divided equally among the three major ethnic constituencies (indigenous Fijians,Indo-Fijians, andEuropeans).RatuSukuna was chosen as the firstSpeaker. Although the Legislative Council still had few of the powers of the modernParliament, it broughtnative Fijians and Indo-Fijians into the official political structure for the first time, and fostered the beginning of a modern political culture in Fiji.
These steps towards self-rule were welcomed by theIndo-Fijian community, which by that time had come to outnumber the native Fijian population. Fearing Indo-Fijian domination, manyFijian chiefs saw the benevolent rule of the British as preferable to Indo-Fijian control and resisted British moves towards autonomy. By this time, however, the United Kingdom had apparently decided to divest itself of its colonialempire and pressed ahead with reforms. The Fijian people as a whole were enfranchised for the first time in 1963, when the legislature was made a wholly elective body, except for 2 members out of 36 nominated by the Great Council of Chiefs. 1964 saw the first step towardsresponsible government, with the introduction of theMember system. Specific portfolios were given to certain elected members of the Legislative Council. They did not constitute aCabinet in theWestminster sense of the term, as they were officially advisers to the colonial Governor rather than ministers with executive authority, and were responsible only to the Governor, not to the legislature. Nevertheless, over the ensuing three years, the then Governor,Sir Derek Jakeway, treated the Members more and more like ministers, to prepare them for the advent of responsible government.
A constitutional conference was held inLondon in July 1965, to discuss constitutional changes with a view to introducing responsible government. Indo-Fijians, led byA. D. Patel, demanded the immediate introduction of full self-government, with a fully elected legislature, to be elected by universal suffrage on a common voters' roll. These demands were vigorously rejected by theethnic Fijian delegation, who still feared loss of control over natively owned land and resources should an Indo-Fijian dominated government come to power. The British made it clear, however, that they were determined to bring Fiji to self-government and eventual independence. Realising that they had no choice, Fiji's chiefs decided to negotiate for the best deal they could get.
A series of compromises led to the establishment of a cabinet system of government in 1967, withRatu Kamisese Mara as the firstChief Minister. Ongoing negotiations between Mara andSidiq Koya, who had taken over the leadership of the mainly Indo-FijianNational Federation Party on Patel's death in 1969, led to a second constitutional conference in London, in April 1970, at which Fiji's Legislative Council agreed on a compromise electoral formula and a timetable for independence as a fully sovereign and independent nation within theCommonwealth. The Legislative Council would be replaced with a bicameralParliament, with aSenate dominated by Fijian chiefs and a popularly electedHouse of Representatives. In the 52-member House, Native Fijians and Indo-Fijians would each be allocated 22 seats, of which 12 would representCommunal constituencies comprising voters registered on strictly ethnic roles, and another 10 representingNational constituencies to which members were allocated by ethnicity but elected byuniversal suffrage. A further 8 seats were reserved for "General electors" –Europeans,Chinese,Banaban Islanders, and other minorities; 3 of these were "communal" and 5 "national".
With this compromise, Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970.[6]
Following the election of the ethnicallyIndian-dominated government ofPrime MinisterTimoci Bavadra (although he personally was anindigenous Fijian) on 13 April 1987, Lieutenant ColonelSitiveni Rabuka carried out the first oftwo military coups on 14 May 1987. At first, Rabuka expressed loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II. However, Governor-GeneralRatu Sir Penaia Ganilau, in an effort to uphold Fiji's constitution, refused to swear in the new (self-appointed) government headed by Rabuka, and so Rabuka declared arepublic on 6 October 1987. This was accepted by the British government on 15 October 1987, and Ganilau resigned on the same day. In a letter addressed to Queen Elizabeth II, Ganilau wrote:
"With humble duty, I wish to submit to you the following advice, acting in my capacity as your representative in Fiji. Owing to the uncertainty of the political and constitutional situation in Fiji, I have now made up my mind to request Your Majesty to relieve me of my appointment as Governor-General with immediate effect. This I do with utmost regret, but my endeavours to preserve constitutional government in Fiji have proved in vain, and I can see no alternative way forward. With deepest respect, Penaia Ganilau, Governor-General."
Following the establishment of theRepublic of Fiji, former Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau became the firstPresident of Fiji, in December 1987.
Fiji was then declared to have been expelled from the Commonwealth - but this was reversed in 1997 when a new Constitution was enacted.
The following Governors-General held office:
The following held office as prime minister (andhead of government):
Elizabeth II visited Fiji before its independence in 1953, 1963 and March 1970, and after independence in 1973, 1977 and 1982.
