Jonati Malamala Mavoa (12 April 1920 – 16 June 1985) was a Fijian civil servant and politician. He served as an MP from 1966 until his death, and held several ministerial positions from 1969 onwards.

Biography

Born in Kabara in April 1920, Mavoa was a civil servant and in 1955 became the first Fijian to be appointed as a clerk to the Legislative Council. He resigned from the civil service in 1966 to join the Alliance Party and stand in the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

to the Legislative Council in the Lau–Rotuma Fijian communal constituency. He was elected unopposed, and was appointed a Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources. In 1969 he was appointed Minister of Social Services. After being re-elected in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

(by which time the legislature had been renamed the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

), he was appointed Minister for Labour, later becoming Minister of Communications, Works and Tourism. Following the March 1977 elections he became House Leader. He was appointed Minister of Urban Development and Housing following the September 1977 elections, before becoming Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in 1979. In 1983 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Civil Aviation and Tourism. He was made a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in the

1984 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1984 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

. He died in

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in June 1985, having been taken to New Zealand for medical treatment following a fall at his home.Jonati Mavoa
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', August 1985, p65

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mavoa, Jonati 1920 births Fijian civil servants Members of the Legislative Council of Fiji Members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 1985 deaths Agriculture ministers of Fiji Communication ministers of Fiji Fisheries ministers of Fiji Foreign Ministers of Fiji Labour ministers of Fiji Housing ministers of Fiji Social affairs ministers of Fiji Tourism ministers of Fiji