Dr John Charles Fatiaki (born ) is a career medical practitioner who was chosen by the

Rotuma Island Council Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a large and unique Polynesian indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognisable minority within the population of Fiji, known as " ...

to be their representative in the Fijian Senate. He is the younger brother of former

Chief Justice of Fiji The chief justice is Fiji's highest judicial officer. The office and its responsibilities are set out in Chapter 5 of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji. The Chief Justice is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister Prime Mi ...

Daniel Fatiaki Taniela (Daniel) Vafo'ou Fatiaki CF (born 1954 in Upu, Motusa District, Rotuma) was the Chief Justice of Fiji from 1 August 2002, when he succeeded Sir Timoci Tuivaga, till 5 December 2008. As Chief Justice, he presided over both the High Co ...

Education and early career

For the first six years of his life John Fatiaki was raised in Rotuma by his grandparents (in the style of traditional Rotuman adoption practices), where his maternal grandfather's family (Benjamin Morris clan) owned the one and only movie theater on the island. At the age of six, John moved to Suva to live with his biological parents, and it is here that he learned English. His father, a renowned Rotuman author and educator, Aselemo Fatiaki, assigned each of his six sons an occupation to achieve at the age of twelve. Dr Fatiaki attended high school in

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 ...

and

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...

before moving to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

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 ...

to study medicine at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

. Upon return he operated a medical practice in Suva, as well as spending time working on the island of Rotuma, at the small local hospital. In addition to this he cooperated with the local court and interpreted the proceedings into English for the presiding district officer. In 2015 he submitted an entry to a competition to decide a new Fijian flag.

Political career

In 2006, he was selected by the

Council of Rotuma The Council of Rotuma is a municipal body on the island of Rotuma, a Fijian dependency. Owing to the unique character of Rotuma, the powers of this council are greater than those of other municipal bodies in Fiji and in some ways it approximates a ...

to represent the 2000-odd inhabitants of the Polynesian dependency of Fiji in the

Senate of Fiji The Senate of Fiji was the upper chamber of Parliament. It was abolished by the 2013 Constitution of Fiji, after a series of military coups. It was the less powerful of the two chambers; it could not initiate legislation, but could amend or veto ...

. Since his selection he has been active in lobbying, together with

George Konrote Major-General Jioji Konousi "George" Konrote, (born 26 December 1947) is a Fijian politician and retired Major-General of the Fiji Military who served as the President of Fiji from 2015 to 2021. After commanding a peacekeeping mission in Leba ...

for the removal of the Bulou ni Ceva, a Fijian sea vessel that was stranded on the reef in Rotuma, putting the local environment at risk. In addition, he has been pushing for improvements to the Rotuman airstrip which is in a serious state of disrepair. He lost his seat in the

2006 Fijian coup d'état The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 was a coup d'état carried out by Commodore Frank Bainimarama, Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, against the government of President Josefa Iloilo. Iloilo was removed as president, but ...

. He contested the

2022 Fijian general election General elections were held in Fiji on 14 December 2022 to elect the 55 members of Parliament. The elections took place following the passage of controversial electoral amendments. In addition to a struggling economy, significant campaign iss ...

as a candidate for the

National Federation Party The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A. D. Patel, A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party (Fiji, 1960s), National Democratic Party. Though it claimed to ...

, winning 1800 votes.

The Land has Eyes

Dr Fatiaki also played a role in the award-winning

Rotuman language Rotuman, also referred to as ''Rotunan'', ''Rutuman'' or ''Fäeag Rotuạm'' (citation form: ''Faega Rotuma''), is an Austronesian language spoken by the indigenous people of the South Pacific island group of Rotuma, an island with a Polynesia ...

film '' Pear ta ma 'on mafa'' (''The Land has Eyes''), which was directed by

Vilsoni Hereniko Vilsoni Hereniko (born October 13, 1954) is a Rotuman playwright, film director and academic. He was the writer and director of Rotuma's first ever (and so far only) feature film, ''The Land Has Eyes'' (''Pear ta ma 'on maf''). Biography Hereniko ...

. The film made its world

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

in 2004. Dr Fatiaki played the role of Poto, a corrupt court interpreter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fatiaki, John Living people Rotuman members of the Senate (Fiji) Rotuman people Fijian people of Rotuman descent Year of birth missing (living people)