Navin Maharaj (born 1939) is a Fiji Indian businessman, former mayor of

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 member of the

House of Representatives of Fiji The House of Representatives was the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament from 1970 to 2006. It was the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone had the power to initiate legislation (the Senate, by contrast, could amend or veto most legislati ...

. He is the son of one of the first three Indian members of the

Legislative Council of Fiji The Legislative Council of Fiji was the colonial precursor to the present-day Parliament, which came into existence when Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970. The first Legislative Council Immediately after Fiji was ceded to the United ...

, James Ramchandar Maharaj, and was born in

Nadi Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...

. After working for 16 years for a well established construction company, he started his own company. He served two terms as Lord Mayor of Suva, first with the Alliance Party, then with 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 ...

(NFP) and finally as an independent. He later rejoined the NFP, and in the 1987 general election was elected to the House of Representatives from the Suva National Constituency as a member of the National Federation Party -

Fiji Labour Party The Fiji Labour Party (FLP; fj, Ilawalawa Cakacaka ni Viti), also known as Fiji Labour, is a political party in Fiji. Most of its support is from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an in ...

coalition. He was the Minister for Trade, Industry and Tourism in the month-long Bavadra government deposed by

Sitiveni Rabuka Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, (; born 13 September 1948) is a Fijian politician who has served as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was democratically elected as Prime Ministe ...

. He subsequently joined the

(FLP) and served as its general secretary during the 1992 general election. Following the 2000 coup, FLP leader

Mahendra Chaudhry Mahendra Pal Chaudhry ( hif, महेन्द्र पाल चौधरी; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former lead ...

accused Maharaj of trying to split the FLP and he subsequently left the party.Chaudhry explains Baba's expulsion
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaj, Navin Alliance Party (Fiji) politicians National Federation Party politicians Fiji Labour Party politicians Indian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Fijian Hindus 1939 births Living people 20th-century Fijian businesspeople Lord Mayors of Suva Politicians from Nadi