Ratu Sairusi Nagagavoka (1920–2014) 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 ...

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

and political leader from Ba

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

. He held the traditional title of '' Momo na Tui Ba (Tai Ko BULU) '', commonly abbreviated to '' Tui Ba Bulu,'' and as such was one of two paramount chiefs in the Ba district of Ba Province. He was the President of the Party of National Unity (PANU), which he founded in 1998. Nagagavoka was regarded as a champion of multiracialism and multiculturalism, a rarity in a country whose electoral faultline was split ethnically rather than ideologically. He considered himself a protégé of the late Ratu Sir

Kamisese Mara Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, (6 May 1920 – 18 April 2004) was a Fijian politician, who served as Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the fi ...

, Fiji's longtime former

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 ...

and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

, whom he described as ''"a great leader who was able to unite all races in Fiji."'' He made this comment at the campaign launch of the Fiji Labour Party, to which his own party was electorally allied, in Ba Town on 11 February 2006. Speaking first in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

and closing in Fijian, Nagagavoka said that the country could not afford divisions, and called on political parties to cooperate to build a strong nation. In the wake of the military coup which deposed the Qarase government on 5 December 2006, Nagagavoka called on the people to accept the reality that the

Republic of Fiji Military Forces The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF, formerly the Royal Fiji Military Forces) is the military force of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of about 4,000 active soldiers and approximately 6,000 reservists, it is one ...

now effectively controlled the country. He boycotted a Great Council of Chiefs meeting in the third week of December, and was quoted in the

Fiji Sun ''Fiji Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Fiji since September 1999 and owned by Sun News Limited. ''Fiji Sun'' was founded by and is part of CJ. Patel Group. The Fiji Sun has its main newsroom in Suva, Fiji. Its print center remains in su ...

(20 and 24 December) as saying that political arguments were a waste of time and would only lead to more divisions. Prior to the coup, the Fiji Sun had quoted him (1 December) as saying that before the 1987 coups and 2000 coup, Fiji had been on the way to becoming an advanced and prosperous nation, but that the coups had thwarted the country's progress. Nagagavoka was married to

Bulou Bulou is a title used by Fijian women of chiefly rank, in the Provinces of Nadroga-Navosa and Kadavu, and parts of Serua Province, in Fiji. It is equivalent to ''Adi'', the title given to female chiefs elsewhere in Fiji. The equivalent t ...

Suguta Soweri. They had eight children, 31 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.

References

Fijian chiefs 2014 deaths 1920 births Party of National Unity (Fiji) politicians Politicians from Ba Province {{Fiji-politician-stub