John Moffat Fugui (9 September 1961 – 22 December 2022) was a

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...

politician.

Life and career

Fugui was born on 9 September 1961. He obtained his first

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, then two more at the

University of Hawai'i A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

in 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 ...

, where he was enrolled in a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

program. He subsequently worked as a political adviser to the Solomon Islands government. His career in national politics began when he was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as the member for Central Honiara (the capital city) in the August 2010 general election, standing as an

independent candidate An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

. He was then appointed Minister for the Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology in Prime Minister

Danny Philip Danny Philip (born 5 August 1953) is a politician and diplomat from Solomon Islands. He was Prime Minister of Solomon Islands from 2010 to 2011. Previously he served as Foreign minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996 and again fro ...

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 ...

. When

Gordon Darcy Lilo Gordon Darcy Lilo (born 28 August 1965) is a Solomon Islander politician who served as Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands from 16 November 2011 to 9 December 2014. He was a member of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands, representing ...

replaced Philip as Prime Minister in November 2011, Fugui retained his position in government. On 22 October 2012, Fugui left the government. He announced that he had resigned because he had had no

permanent secretary A permanent secretary (also known as a principal secretary) is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day ...

for seven months; Prime Minister Lilo stated that he had sacked him for siding with the Opposition. Lilo replaced him with

Bradley Tovosia Braddley Tovosia (born 10 April 1967 in Sukiki Village, GuadalcanalBiography
on the website of the Parliam ...

. Following the 2014 general election, in which he retained his seat, Fugui was elected Deputy Speaker of the National Parliament, on 17 December. On 14 February 2020, he was stripped of his title as a Member of Parliament for Central Honiara Constituency due to evidence of misconduct. In 2021, Fugui was appointed the first Solomon Islands Ambassador to China, he arrived in China on 22 May. Fugui died on 22 December 2022, of cardiac arrest, at the age of 61, in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing The COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease first reached Beijing on 20 January 2020. Timel ...

. He was the seventh foreign diplomat in China to die in two years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fugui, John Moffat 1961 births 2022 deaths Members of the National Parliament of the Solomon Islands People from Honiara University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni University of Canterbury alumni Ambassadors of the Solomon Islands to China Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in China Environment ministers of the Solomon Islands Education ministers of the Solomon Islands