Rishi Shankar (1934 - 2015) is a Fiji Indian lawyer who was elected to 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 ...

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 ...

. He was born in

Lautoka Lautoka () is the second largest Local government in Fiji, city in Fiji. It is on the west coast of the island of Viti Levu, in the Ba Province of the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division. Lying in the heart of Fiji's sugar cane-growing r ...

, Fiji and was a police officer from 1953 to 1965. He then studied law at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

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 ...

. He re-joined the police force on return to Fiji but in 1974 joined the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. In 1976, he left government service to set up a law firm in Ba. He served as

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 ...

Town Councillor between 1982 and 1985. For the 1987 general election, the

NFP–Labour Coalition NFP–Labour Coalition was the coalition of the National Federation Party and Fiji Labour Party under the leadership of Timoci Bavadra, formed in 1987 to contest that year's general election. The coalition won the election with 28 seats in the Hous ...

chose him as a candidate for the Nadi Indian Communal Constituency which he won easily, but was a member of Parliament for a month when the military coup of 1987 prematurely ended his political career. He was one of the coalition members not detained during the coup as he was not present in Parliament when it was stormed by armed soldiers led 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 later managed to escape to New Zealand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shankar, Rishi 1930s births Living people Fiji Labour Party politicians Indian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Fijian police officers Fijian Hindus Victoria University of Wellington alumni 20th-century Fijian lawyers Fijian expatriates in New Zealand Politicians from Lautoka Colony of Fiji people