Qoriniasi Babitu Bale (1941 — 21 March 2014) was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and politician who served twice as

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 ...

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, most recently from 2001 to 2006, when he was deposed in the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

of 5 December. Like many of Fiji's most influential leaders, Bale was a native of Levukana in

Vanua Balavu Vanua Balavu (pronounced ) is the third largest island in Fiji's Lau archipelago, and the main island of the Northern Lau Group. Geography and infrastructure This coral and volcanic island has a land area of . Its maximum elevation is . The isl ...

in the

Lau Islands The Lau Islands aka little Tonga (also called the Lau Group, the Eastern Group, the Eastern Archipelago) of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about sixty islands and islets, about thirty a ...

Education and early career

Bale was educated at Queen Victoria School then

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

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 ...

, where he graduated with a LLB degree in 1969. Upon returning to Fiji, he was appointed a Crown Counsel in the

Crown Law Office The Crown Law Office (Crown Law) ( Māori: ''Te Tari Ture o te Karauna'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with advising the government on legal affairs, representing the government in appellate cases, and overseeing the pr ...

, and subsequently became a Crown Prosecutor in the Office of the

Director of Public Prosecutions The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...

in 1970. In 1975, he became Principal Legal Officer in the Crown Law Office, before being promoted to Solicitor General in 1979, a post he held until 1984. He was the first native-born Solicitor General; his predecessors had all been from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Political career

Bale had his first foray into

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

in 1984, when the Governor General of Fiji appointed him to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

at the nomination of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. At that time the Senate consisted of 22 members, 7 of whom were nominated by the Prime Minister. He became

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in the

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 ...

, and later that year was also appointed to the newly created position of Minister for Justice. He retired from politics, however, following the defeat of the Alliance Party in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

of 1987. Following the Fiji coups of 1987, Bale went into private practice as a lawyer. He served as Legal Adviser to the

Great Council of Chiefs The Great Council of Chiefs ''(Bose Levu Vakaturaga'' in Fijian) was a constitutional body in Fiji from 1876 to March 2012. In April 2007, the council was suspended, due to an unworkable relationship with Frank Bainimarama, leader of an "interi ...

and the

Fijian Affairs Board Fijian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Fiji * The Fijians, persons from Fiji, or of Fijian descent. For more information about the Fijian people, see: ** Demographics of Fiji ** Culture of Fiji * The Fijian langua ...

for 18 years, and as Chairman of the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

and the Constituency Boundaries Commission from 1990 to 1996. He was also Chairman of Ratu Sukuna Memorial School from 1988 to 1996, and Chairman of the Council of the

Fiji School of Medicine The Fiji School of Medicine is a tertiary institution based in Suva, Fiji. Originally established in 1885 as the ''Suva Medical School''. FSM became the College of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences as part of Fiji National University in 2010. ...

for 10 years. Following the restoration of democracy after the Fiji coup of 2000, Prime Minister

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase ...

appointed Bale to the Senate in September 2001. One of the 9 out of 32 Senators chosen by the Prime Minister, he found himself holding the portfolios of Attorney-General and Minister for Justice once more.

Policies

A member of the

Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua The United Fiji Party ( fj, Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua, SDL) was a political party in Fiji. It was founded in 2001 by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase as a power base; it absorbed most of the Christian Democratic Alliance and other conse ...

Party (SDL), he was known to have Fijian nationalist sympathies and called for substantial amendments to be made to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

adopted in 1997. This Constitution, which was abrogated in the course of the 2000 coup, was subsequently reinstated in March 2001, following two court rulings. In May and June 2005, Bale promoted the

Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill The Reconciliation and Unity Commission was a proposed government body to be set up if the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which was introduced into the Fijian Parliament on 4 May 2005 was passed. The legislation proposed to empower th ...

, which proposes the establishment of a Commission with the power, subject to presidential approval, to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of crimes related to the 2000 coup. In July 2006, Bale claimed that the Fiji Labour Party had no right to call itself the opposition and appoint shadow ministers. Bale said "as far as the Opposition goes there are only two formal Opposition members while the rest of the FLP members are government back-benchers."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bale, Qoriniasi 2014 deaths Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua politicians University of Otago alumni I-Taukei Fijian members of the Senate (Fiji) Attorneys-general of Fiji 21st-century Fijian lawyers I-Taukei Fijian people Politicians from Vanua Balavu 1941 births 20th-century Fijian lawyers