Gaffar Ahmed is a former Fiji Labour Party (FLP) Fijian politician of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n descent. Ahmed was born in Ba and is a former

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

. He represented the Ba West Indian Communal Constituency, one of 19 reserved for

Indo-Fijians Indo-Fijians or Indian-Fijians (also known as Fiji Indians) are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent.Girmit by Suresh Prasad Although Indo-Fijians constitu ...

, from 1995 to 2006. Ahmed was Assistant Minister for Home Affairs in the Peoples Coalition Government from 1999 to 2000. On 19 May 2000, he was among the 43 members of the People's Coalition Government, led by

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 ...

, taken hostage by

George Speight George Speight (born 1957) is a Fijian businessman and politician who was the leader of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, in which he and rebel soldiers from Fiji's Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit seized the Fijian Parliament and held Prime Minister ...

and his band of rebel

Republic of Fiji Military Forces The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF, formerly the Royal Fiji Military Forces) is the military force of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of about 4,000 active soldiers and approximately 6,000 reservists, it is one ...

(RFMF) soldiers from the Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit. He was released on 21 May 2000, after he signed a paper resigning his seat in Parliament. In 2003, Ahmed was offered the portfolio of Minister for Prisons, together with 13 other FLP parliamentarians who were offered cabinet positions by the Prime Minister,

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 ...

but the FLP refused to accept this offer. Earlier, he had expressed his intention to contest the Magodro Open Constituency in the House of Representatives, but announced his withdrawal on 11 April 2006, citing financial difficulties but was appointed to the Senate as one of eight nominees of the Leader of the Opposition. Ahmed is a life member of Fiji Football Referees Association and held a FIFA referees badge from 1991 to 1995.Ahmed backs television investment
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Gaffar Fiji Labour Party politicians Indian members of the Senate (Fiji) Indian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Fijian Muslims Fijian police officers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Fijian football referees Government ministers of Fiji Politicians from Ba Province Fijian politicians of Indian descent