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 ...

'' Inoke Kubuabola (born 1948) 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

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

. He is the former leader of the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

and

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

. Kubuabola worked as an assistant manager for the

New Zealand Insurance Company NZI or New Zealand Insurance is a major insurance company in New Zealand. NZI was formed in Auckland by 1859 as the New Zealand Insurance Company and is one of New Zealand's largest and longest-serving fire and general insurance brands. In a ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

and

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

. From 1975 to 1987 he was secretary of the

South Pacific Bible Society South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. A Fijian nationalist, he was involved in the planning of the

1987 Fijian coups d'état The Fijian coups d'état of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic. The first coup d'état, in wh ...

. Following the coup he was appointed Minister for Information in the Military Government, and subsequently served as Minister for Information, Broadcasting, Television and Telecommunication. Kubuabola was elected to Parliament in the 1992 election as a candidate for the

Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei The Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT), occasionally known in English as Fijian Political Party, was a party which dominated the politics of Fiji in the 1990s and was the mainstay of coalition governments from 1992 to 1999. Origins The par ...

(SVT) and reappointed to Cabinet as Minister for Youth, Employment Opportunities and Sports. He was re-elected at the 1994 election and was appointed Minister for Regional Development and Multi Ethnic Affairs. In 1996 he was appointed Minister of Works, Infrastructure and Transport. Following the defeat of the SVT government at the 1999 election and the subsequent resignation of its leader, the defeated

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 ...

Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician who has served as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was democratically elected as Prime Minist ...

, Kubuabola became leader of the SVT and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. Under the

1997 Constitution of Fiji The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 ''coup d'état'' led by George Speight. ...

the Leader of the Opposition chose 8 of the 32 members of the

Senate 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 ...

, and Kubuabola sparked controversy in the role by limiting his selection to members of opposition parties. Following the Fiji coup of 2000 Kubuabola was appointed Minister for Information and

Communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

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 ...

formed by

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 ...

. He held this office till September 2001, when he lost his seat in the 2001 election. That year he also resigned the Chairmanship of the Cakaudrove Provincial Council, which he had led for served years, to Sitiveni Rabuka.

Diplomat

Kubuabola served as Fiji's High Commissioner to

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

from 2002 to 2005. In late 2005, he attempted to handle the problem of Fijian security guards, whom some accused of being

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

, operating illegally on the island of Bougainville. On 4 May 2006 Kubuabola was posted to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

as Fiji's Ambassador to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, replacing

Tevita Momoedonu Ratu Tevita Momoedonu (13 January 1946 – 26 November 2020) was a Fijian politician who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Fiji twice – each time extremely briefly. Both appointments were to get around constitutional technicalities; hi ...

. He remained in this position until July 2009 when he was named

by the Interim Government. Kubuabola ran as a candidate for

FijiFirst 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 election, and was elected with 5,414 votes. He did not seek re-election at the 2018 election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kubuabola, Ratu Inoke 1948 births Living people Fijian chiefs I-Taukei Fijian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) High Commissioners of Fiji to Papua New Guinea Ambassadors of Fiji to Japan Ambassadors of Fiji to South Korea Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei politicians FijiFirst politicians I-Taukei Fijian members of the Parliament of Fiji Fijian nationalists Foreign Ministers of Fiji Fijian Christians Politicians from Cakaudrove Province Leaders of the Opposition (Fiji)