Chaitanya Lakshman (born in 1968) is a Fiji Indian lawyer, social worker and politician who served in the multi-party cabinet of the Qarase Government as Minister for Local Government. Lakshman was elected from the Viti Levu South Kadavu Indian Communal Constituency in the 2006 elections as a

Fiji Labour Party The Fiji Labour Party (FLP; fj, Ilawalawa Cakacaka ni Viti), also known as Fiji Labour, is a political party in Fiji. Most of its support is from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an in ...

(FLP) member. The seat had been held by his uncle, Prince Gopal Lakshman, in the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

and

2001 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2001. Africa * 2001 Beninese presidential election * 2001 Cape Verdean parliamentary election * 2001 Cape Verdean presidential election * 2001 Chadian presidential election * 2001 Gabonese legislat ...

. When the Fiji Labour Party decided to join the multi-party cabinet, Lakshman was one of the nine members nominated by the FLP leader,

Mahendra Chaudhry Mahendra Pal Chaudhry ( hif, महेन्द्र पाल चौधरी; 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 lead ...

. He was given the portfolio of Minister for Local Government & Urban Development. Lakshman, together with three other FLP cabinet members voted against the 2007 budget and were asked to resign by the then

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase ...

. Prior to entering politics Lakshman was the Manager of Complaints Division of the

Fiji Human Rights Commission The Fiji Human Rights Commission (FHRC) was created by presidential decree in 2009, succeeding the entity of the same name established as an independent statutory body under the 1997 Constitution of the Republic of the Fiji Islands. The 1997 Co ...

and a barrister and solicitor with the Institute of Applied Legal Studies (IJALS) 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 ...

. In Parliament, Lakshman was the First Indian to represent 3 Generations in Parliament. His grandfather, B. D. Lakshman, and uncle, Prince Gopal Lakshman, also served as members of Parliament. Currently Lakshman is a Resident Magistrate based in

Nausori Nausori () is a town in Fiji. It had a population of 57,866 at the 2017 census. This makes it the fourth most populous municipality in the country. Situated 19 kilometers outside of Suva, it forms one pole of the burgeoning Suva-Nausori corrido ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lakshman, Chaitanya Fijian Hindus Fiji Labour Party politicians Indian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) 1968 births Living people Government ministers of Fiji 20th-century Fijian lawyers Politicians from Navua 21st-century Fijian judges