Adi Losalini Raravuya Dovi 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 politician and lady of rank in Fiji's chiefly leadership. In

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

she was jointly one of the first women elected to parliament, serving in the House of Representatives until 1977. She also served as Assistant Minister for Urban Development and Social Welfare from 1975 to 1977.

Biography

Dovi was the eldest child of Ratu Taniela Uluiviti and Laisani Valotu of Bau; her father was an early colonial administrator under her future brother-in-law Lala Sukuna. The elder of her two younger brothers,

Nat Uluiviti Nacanieli Mataika "Nat" Uluiviti (19 May 1932 – 6 May 2004) was a Fijian cricketer, rugby union player and politician, serving in the Senate. Cricket A right-handed batsman and right-arm medium pace bowler, he played first-class cricket for ...

, played cricket and rugby union for Fiji and later became a Senator. After attending the Methodist mission 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 ...

, Dovi began working for the Fijian Affairs Board as a clerk.Adi Losalini Raravuya Dovi
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', November 1983, p73 She later worked for Lala Sukuna as his private secretary. She married

J.A.R. Dovi Ratu Jione Atonio Rabici "Tom" Doviverata (1906 – November 1971) was a Bau (island), Bau chief and medical doctor and administrator in colonial Fiji. Heritage and family ''Ratu Dovi,'' as he is better known, was a scion of the Vunivalu of Ba ...

, Sukuna's younger brother, who served as Roko Tui Bau and was the first Fijian to quality as a doctor. They had four children: Joni Madraiwiwi (later Vice President of Fiji), Timoci Taniela Taliai Tavanavanua, Litiana Maopa and Viviana Valotu Sofi Veisaca. Dovi later worked for

Malcolm Trustram Eve Arthur Malcolm Trustram Eve, 1st Baron Silsoe (8 April 1894 – 3 December 1976), known as Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve, 1st Baronet, from 1943 to 1963, was a British barrister and First Church Estates Commissioner. Biography Eve was the son of Sir ...

when he headed enquiries into the sugar and coconut industries, and served as president of the Fiji National Council of Women. In 1966 she joined the new Alliance Party and was briefly its secretary. In the same year, she was elected to the Legislative Council as one of two representatives of the Great Council of Chiefs, becoming one of the first female members alongside Loloma Livingston and Irene Jai Narayan. She was 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 ...

from the South-Eastern Fijian national constituency. Following the elections, she was appointed Government Whip. In 1975 she became Assistant Minister for Urban Development and Social Welfare, the first woman to hold a ministerial post. However, she was not nominated for the March 1977 elections and lost her seat. Dovi was awarded an OBE in the

1978 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1978 were appointments by many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate t ...

. She died in September 1983 at the age of 53.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dovi, Losalini 20th-century Fijian women politicians 20th-century Fijian politicians Fijian chiefs Fijian Methodists Alliance Party (Fiji) politicians Members of the Legislative Council of Fiji Members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Government ministers of Fiji Officers of the Order of the British Empire 1983 deaths Deaths from cancer in Fiji Fijian chiefesses