Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Jeremaia Waqanisau OF MSD JP (1948 – April 25, 2010) was 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 career soldier, civil servant, and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, who had served since April 2004 as his country's

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Education and early career

Waqanisau was educated in Fiji,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, 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 ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He held a Certificate in Banking Administration (ABIA) from the ANZ Staff College in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, a

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 ...

in Public Administration and Sociology from 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 ...

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 ...

, Fiji, and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in Defence and Security Analysis from

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

in the

. He earned a Diploma in Security Studies from the

Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies The Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) is a U.S. Department of Defense institute that officially opened Sept. 4, 1995, in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Center addresses regional and global security issues, inviting militar ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. He began his banking career with the

ANZ ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand ** ...

in 1968.

Military career

Waqanisau left banking and joined the Army in 1976. His first senior appointment, from November 1984 to April 1986, was as Commanding Officer in the Fiji Battalion with

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon ( ar, قوة الأمم المتحدة المؤقتة في لبنان, he, כוח האו"ם הזמני בלבנון), or UNIFIL ( ar, يونيفيل, he, יוניפי״ל), is a UN peacekeeping m ...

peacekeeping troops in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. In November 1986 he was promoted to Senior Operations Planning Officer with UNIFIL. He held this post until May 1987, when he was transferred to the

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

, in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, serving till June 1988. From August to October 1988, he was the Commanding Officer of the Army Training Group in Fiji. In November that year he was appointed Colonel Adjutant and

Quarter-Master Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

General in the Fiji Headquarters, and held this position till January 1991. In February, he was promoted to the rank of

and appointed UNIFIL Chief of Staff. He remained in this position until March 1992. In April 1994, he became Deputy Force Commander of UNIFIL; from February through May 1995, he acted as Force Commander. His last major posting was as Colonel Adjutant and Quarter-Master General in the Fiji Headquarters, from July 1995 through December 1996. During his military career, Waqanisau also had two assignments as an attachment adviser. The first, in 1990, was as Military Adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister's delegation to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The second, in 1991, was as Adviser to the Ministry of Home Affairs, concerning the review of Fiji's cooperative defence relationship with other Pacific countries. Waqanisau's first diplomatic postings also came during his military service. From July 1992 to April 1994, he was posted as Counsellor to the Fiji Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Mission in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In May 1993 he was

Chargé d'Affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

to the UN Mission and then in December of the same year he held the same position at the Fijian

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 1994, the Department of Peacekeeping appointed him as Military Adviser to the

United Nations Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-ge ...

's Peace Envoy to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Civil service career

Waqanisau's 19-year military career came to an end in 1996. He joined the civil service and served as Commissioner of

's Western Division from January 1997 through December 1998. In January 1999, he became Deputy Secretary for Regional Development and Multi-Ethnic Affairs, and in September 2000, was appointed Permanent Secretary for National Reconciliation and Unity, following the Fiji coup of 2000. In January 2001, he became Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President of Fiji. He was transferred to the post of Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs and Immigration in February 2002, and held this post in 2002 and 2003. In January 2004, Waqanisau was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, and Disaster Management. He held this position until April 2004, when he was selected for his final appointment as the Fijian Ambassador to China.

Awards and decorations

Waqanisau received numerous civilian and military honours. He received the

Fiji Independence Medal __NOTOC__ The Fiji Independence Medal was authorised by Queen Elizabeth II on the occasion of the granting of independence to Fiji to give recognition to individuals of the Armed Forces, Police Force, Prison Service, Aerodrome Fire Service, Forest ...

in 1970, when Fiji received its independence from the

. The UNIFIL Peace Keeping Medal and the

Multinational Force and Observers Medal The Multinational Force and Observers Medal is an international military decoration which was first created on March 24, 1982. The medal was established under the authority of the Director-General of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) wh ...

(in 1978 and 1987, respectively) were for his contributions to peacekeeping in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. He received the

Fiji Republic Medal 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 ...

in 1988 and of the General Service Medal in 1989; these were followed by the Meritorious Service Decoration (MSD) in 1991. In 1995, he received the Fiji Independence Anniversary Medal, to commemorate 25 years of independence. He was made an Officer of the Order of Fiji (OF)-Military Division in 1997, and a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

(JP) in 2002.

Personal life

Waqanisau was married to Salote Lutu, with whom he had six children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waqanisau, Jeremaia Fijian civil servants Fijian soldiers Alumni of Lancaster University Ambassadors of Fiji to China 1948 births 2010 deaths Officers of the Order of Fiji I-Taukei Fijian people