Noor Dean is an

Indo-Fijian Indo-Fijians or Indian-Fijians (also known as Fiji Indians) are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent.Girmit by Suresh Prasad Although Indo-Fijians constitu ...

lawyer and politician who served in the

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 ...

City Council and was elected to 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 ...

in 1987.

Early life

He was born in Suva, Fiji in 1946, the oldest boy in a family of 12. His father, the late Rahmat Dean was a popular architect who designed the Toorak Mosque in Suva. He worked as a school teacher, and then became a lawyer after training as a Barrister at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

Political career

Dean served in the Suva City Council since 1972, representing 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 was elected Suva's Lord Mayor for the 1982–1983 term. Noor served the NFP as Branch Secretary, Youth Leader, National Organising Secretary and National Vice-president. For the 1987 general election, the NFP-Labour Coalition chose him as a candidate for the Labasa/Bua Indian Communal Constituency which he won easily. He was elected the Deputy Speaker but was a member of Parliament for a month before the

1987 Fijian coups d'état The Fijian coups d'état of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic. The first coup d'état, in wh ...

ended his political career. He was detained by the military regime, but released after a few days in custody. He later claimed that the coup had been carried out not by Fijians, but by American mercenaries.

Post-coup

After the coup he left Fiji and worked as a lawyer in

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 ...

. He was a Partner in Victoria law firm, Buxton and Associates, and then Principal at MLC Lawyers in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In 2006 he was found guilty of professional misconduct, fined $3000, and ordered to pay $13000 in compensation after failing to file a visa application for a clinet, resulting in them being classified as an illegal immigrant. In 2019 he was again found guilty of professional misconduct, and fined $8000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dean, Noor 1946 births Living people Fijian Muslims Members of Gray's Inn National Federation Party politicians Indian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Fijian expatriates in the United Kingdom Fijian emigrants to Australia Australian Muslims Australian people of Indo-Fijian descent Lord Mayors of Suva 20th-century Fijian lawyers