'' Adi'' Laufitu Malani (1958-2017) was a

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), 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 ...

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

and politicians. She was a former medical assistant, a former director of UNIFEM (now UN Women) Pacific office and a political leader. She served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from June to December 2006, when the Senate was dissolved in the wake of the military coup of 5 December. On 8 January 2007, however, she was appointed Minister for Social Welfare and Women in the interim

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of Commodore Frank Bainimarama.

Biography

Malani is the daughter of '' Ratu'' Meli Salabogi, Member of the Order of the British Empire- MBE, former Fiji Senator and paramount chief of the

Nakorotubu Nakorotubu is one of nineteen districts in Fiji's Ra Province. It consists of seven sub-districts or sub-regions: the five villages of Namarai, Nacobau, Nadavacia, Saioko and Verevere. Nakorotubu also refers to one of the four main traditional reg ...

district in the Province of Ra in the northern part of Viti Levu (elder brother of medical doctor Dr ''Ratu''

Wilisoni Tuiketei Malani Ratu Wilisoni Tuiketei Malani (1920 – 14 June 2005) was the younger brother of Ratu Meli Salabogi, a Fijian chief Gonesau, medical doctor, and politician. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the Bri ...

, Order of the British Empire-OBE). As the first Director of UNIFEM (UN WOMEN) Pacific, she was instrumental in designing gender awareness programmes with Government planners in the Pacific as well as political empowerment for women in the Pacific. In 2014, she was approached by the then Party leader of the Opposition-SODELPA party, Ro Teimumu Kepa to be her political adviser (PA), a role that she was committed to until she passed on. Accolades poured in about her leadership qualities when she had passed on. A Fiji Times article "A legacy to remember" by Tauga Vulaono described how she mortgaged her premium Rt Sukuna Road-property to pay off the Guest House of the Ra Provincial Women Association (Ra Soqosoqo Vakamarama) and repay the loan herself. The Ra Soqosoqo Vakamarama used to cater for Ra Provincial and related meetings from an open fire hence the project to build a guest house with solar power, a water tank and a kitchen. She again mortgaged her premium Rt Sukuna Road property to secure a youth hostel at Reki Street in Suva to cater for students from Ra Province who were finding difficulties to secure a place to stay while studying at one of the tertiary institutions in Suva, i.e. the University of the South Pacific (USP), Fiji National University (FNU), etc. Both properties have been transferred as assets of the Ra Province under the Uluda Holdings Limited portfolio.

References

1958 births 2017 deaths I-Taukei Fijian members of the Senate (Fiji) Government ministers of Fiji Fijian chiefs Fijian diplomats Politicians from Nakorotubu Fijian officials of the United Nations {{Fiji-politician-stub