Brij Lal is 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 ...

an politician and Member of the

Parliament of Fiji The Parliament of the Republic of Fiji is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Fiji. It consists of 55 members elected every 4 years using open list proportional representation in one multi-member nationwide constituency. History ...

. He is of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

descent. Lal was educated at

Labasa College Labasa College is a state secondary school for Forms 3 to 7 in Labasa, Fiji. It has a roll of more than 650 students as of January 2013, including a collection of boarding students from across the Northern Division of Fiji. History Labasa Colle ...

. He later went on to achieve a Teaching certificate from the

National Teachers College The National Teachers College is a private, non-sectarian, educational institution located in Quiapo, Manila, Philippines, offering preschool, basic, and higher education. History It was founded and incorporated by Segundo M. Infantado, Sr. ...

. He did his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

at the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...

as well as his

Postgraduate diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award postg ...

. He got his Master's of science from the Royal Ireland Institute of Business and Technology. He taught in multiple schools in

Labasa Labasa (pronounced ) is a town in Fiji with a population of 27,949 at the most recent census held in 2007. Labasa is located in Macuata Province, in the north-eastern part of the island of Vanua Levu, and is the largest town on the island. Th ...

after graduating. He was made an Education Officer for the

Macuata Macuata is one of Fiji's fourteen Provinces, and one of three based principally on the northern island of Vanua Levu, occupying the north-eastern 40 percent of the island. It has a land area of 2004 square kilometers. The Province has 114 villa ...

/ Bua region and later a Senior Education Officer. He served the Cakaudrove District as well as

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...

. He also served as Program's Manager on the

AusAid Australian Aid is the brand name used to identify projects in developing countries supported by the Australian Government. As of 2014 the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has been responsible for Australia's official development ...

funded Fiji Education Sector Program. While rising through the ranks, he collected many medals including Long Service Commendation Award, Medal of Merit, Universal Bridge Gold Medal and the Civil Service Medal. He was also the Deputy Chief Commissioner of the

Fiji Scouts Association The Fiji Scouts Association, ( Fijian Nai Soqosoqo ni taba Gone e Viti) is the national Scouting organization of Fiji. Scouting in Fiji was founded in 1914, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1971. The Fiji S ...

. In June 2010, he was appointed the

Permanent Secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

for Education, National Heritage, Culture & Arts, Youth & Sports after the former secretary, Filipe Jitoko resigned. He stood for

Fiji First FijiFirst ( fj, iMatai ni Viti) is a liberal political party in Fiji. The party was formed in March 2014 by then Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. Formation The party was launched on 31 March 2014 with Bainimarama beginning a nationwide tour o ...

in the 2014 general elections. He collected 2700 votes and was elected as a Member of Parliament.

References

FijiFirst politicians University of the South Pacific alumni Living people Fijian civil servants Indian members of the Parliament of Fiji Fijian educators Politicians from Labasa 20th-century Fijian educators 21st-century Fijian educators Year of birth missing (living people) {{Fiji-politician-stub