The colonial

Governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political_regions, political region, ranking under the Head of State, head of state and in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of ...

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 ...

relied on the Executive Council for advice on proposals for legislation which, after being discussed in the Executive Council meetings, came before the Legislative Council in the form of bills. In this way, the Executive Council was the chief policy-making body and performed

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 ...

-like functions, but being advisory, was not yet a cabinet in function. This role changed in 1964 with the introduction of the membership system.

The first Executive Council

Immediately after Fiji was ceded to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, on 10 October 1874, the first Governor, Sir

Hercules Robinson Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, (19 December 1824 – 28 October 1897), was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong and subsequently, the 14th Governor of New South Wales, the first Gover ...

, established an Executive Council with himself as President and comprising six other

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

Inclusion of Legislative Council members

Changes to the Constitution in 1916 provided for an Executive Council consisting of the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, Colonial Secretary,

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, and such other persons as the Governor in pursuance of Royal instructions received through the Secretary of State for the Colonies, may from time to time appoint. From 1912, the Executive Council also included two unofficial (representatives of the community and not directly employed by the Government), who were European elected members of the Legislative Council. The first two European members were J. B. Turner and Henry Scott.

Inclusion of ethnic Fijians and Fiji Indians

Ever since its inception in Fiji, Executive Council members were all

s, until Ratu Sukuna, an ethnic Fijian, was appointed in 1943. In the late 1930s, when the Colonial Office urged for an Indian appointment, the then Governor, Sir Arthur Richards, said;

A man maybe highly representative of the petty trader, the petty shopkeeper or the petty farmer but if he also has the limitations of the petty trader he would be useless as an advisor.

but an Indian,

K. B. Singh Kunwar Bachint Singh (1905 – 1979) was an Indo-Fijians, Indo-Fijian teacher and politician. He arrived in Fiji in 1927 as a teacher for the Arya Samaj in Fiji, Arya Samaj but his association with Vishnu Deo led him to play an active role in a ...

was finally appointed to the Executive Council in 1946.

Selection from Legislative Council

A committee formed in 1948 proposed that the five unofficial representatives of each racial group be empowered to select one of their own numbers to be a member of the Executive Council. The selection of an

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 ...

into the Executive Council caused a rift between Indian members of the Legislative Council.

A. D. Patel Ambalal Dahyabhai Patel, better known as A.D. Patel (13 March 1905 – 1 October 1969), was an Indo-Fijian politician, farmers' leader and founder and leader of the National Federation Party. Patel was uncompromisingly committed to a vision of an ...

managed to outmaneuver

Vishnu Deo Pt. Vishnu Deo (Hindi: विष्णु देव) OBE (17 July 1900 – 7 May 1968) was the first Fiji born and bred leader of the Indo-Fijians. From his initial election to the Legislative Council in 1929 to his retirement in 1959, he rema ...

for this position which made bitter enemies of these former political allies. Vishnu Deo's political machine ensured that Patel did not get elected for the next thirteen years.

Membership System

On 1 July 1964, a membership system of Government was installed with the composition of the Executive Council modified to allocate a majority of the seats to unofficial members. A Fijian, an Indian and a European were granted portfolios.

John Falvey Sir John Neil Falvey, K.B.E., Q.C. was a New Zealand-born lawyer, who served as Attorney General of Fiji from 1970 to 1977. Previously, he had served as legal adviser to the Fijian Affairs Board. Early political career Falvey served as a ...

was appointed Member for Communications and Works,

Ratu ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to re ...

Kamisese Mara Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, (6 May 1920 – 18 April 2004) was a Fijian politician, who served as Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the fi ...

was appointed Member for Natural Resources and

was appointed member for Social Services.

References