Semesa Koroikilai Sikivou,
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(1917 – 1990) 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 ...
an academic, politician, and diplomat.
Education and career
Sikivou graduated from
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 ...
's
University of Auckland
, mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work
, established = 1883; years ago
, endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021)
, budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021)
, chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant
, vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...
, and went on to become the first Fijian to acquire a post graduate degree from the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
.
He taught at Suva Methodist Primary School in the 1930s and among his students was the future
ombudsman
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
of Fiji,
Sir Moti Tikaram.
Lelean Memorial School
Towards the end of 1942, at the height of the Pacific Campaign of the Second World War, the Colonial Authority was issued a command to close all urban schools and surrender their compounds to the military, to be used as military camps for the war campaign against the Japanese threat. At that time, a notable missionary teacher by the name of Mr
William Earnest Donnelly, was serving as principal of Toorak Boys’ School. Whilst other overseas teachers immediately left Fiji to await the end of the war, the determined missionary principal, Mr Donnelly sent a circular to all members of the senior classes of Classes Six, Seven, and Eight of Toorak Boys School, inviting volunteers to come away with him, to continue their education. After consultation with the heads of the Methodist Church, he was given permission to use the principal’s residence at the Davuilevu Technical School. As a result, he and 50 volunteers from Toorak Boys School in Suva, met at the principal’s residence on 3 March 1943. Their first classrooms were the two master bedrooms in the house and the long verandah on the eastern side as their library. There were only two classes and two teachers; the late Mssrs
W.E Donnelly and Semesa Sikivou.
In the 1943 Methodist Church Annual Conference, Mr Donnelly was given permission to expand his classes along the same ridge and as a result, the boys themselves, with his and Semesa Sikivou's guidance, built three large
bures, where the teachers staff quarters presently stand. He was also directed to name the new school,
Lelean Memorial School
Lelean Memorial School is one of the largest co-ed schools in Fiji. It was established in 1943 and is run by the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma. It is co-located at the Davuilevu Methodist Compound with thDavuilevu Theological Collegeand the ...
, in memory of a long serving and beloved missionary in Fiji, the Reverend
Charles Oswald Lelean. Rev Lelean was an Australian missionary who served in Fiji for 36 years, from 1914 to 1934.
Amongst his students were
Rusiate Nayacakalou
Rusiate Nayacakalou (1927 – 6 February 1972) was a Fijian social anthropologist. His work illustrated the ways in which anthropological reflexivity can inspire moral critique from its subjects when a critical stance toward tradition is mistaken ...
, who later became the first South Pacific Islander to graduate with a PhD and
Jimione Samisoni
Jimione (Jimmie) Isimeli Samisoni (died April 2007) was a Fijian physician and academic who served as Dean of the Fiji School of Medicine (FSM). He was the husband of politician Mere Samisoni.
Samisoni was educated at Lelean Memorial School, befo ...
who became the first Fijian to become the dean 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. It ...
.
Political career
Sikivou served as a member of the
Legislative Council in the 1960s, and in January 1963 he was one of eight to sign the
Wakaya Letter Wakaya may refer to:
Places
* Wakaya Island, a privately owned island in Lomaiviti Archpelago in Fiji
* Wakaya people
The Wakaya are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Northern Territory.
Country
Norman Tindale's estimate of the Wakaya's te ...
, which affirmed the principles of
Fijian paramountcy. When Fiji gained its independence 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 ...
in 1970, he was appointed Fiji's first
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
, serving until 1976. He reentered
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 the 1980s, and served as
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
.
In the
1972 New Year Honours List he was appointed a CBE.
Sikivou was offered a
knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
, but declined it, saying that it was his honour to serve her without remuneration.
Personal life
Sikivou, who hailed from
Rewa Province
Rewa is a province of Fiji. With a land area of 272 square kilometers (the smallest of Fiji's provinces), it includes the capital city of Suva (but not most of Suva's suburbs) and is in two parts — one including part of Suva's hinterland to the ...
, belonged to the tribe of the
Roko Tui Dreketi
The Roko Tui Dreketi is the Paramount Chief of Fiji's Rewa Province and of the Burebasaga Confederacy, to which Rewa belongs.
Details on the title
This title is considered the second most senior in Fiji's House of Chiefs. The dynasty holding th ...
's ''Guardians of the Spirit and the Wise Counsel,'' and as such was a member of the traditional court of the Paramount Chief of the
Burebasaga Confederacy. He had strong ties to the Provinces of
Namosi,
Naitasiri
:see also Naitasiri District
Naitasiri is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji and one of eight located on Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island.
Geography and infrastructure
Naitasiri covers an area of , and occupies the area mostly to the north of Suva, ...
, and
Verata.
He was married twice, first to Seini Ratuvou of the Vutia District of Rewa, with whom he had one daughter, Ateca (who died of
asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...
at the age of one) and three sons: Navitalai, Rokocanini, and Metuisela Sikivou. His second marriage was to Salote Tabuanitoga of
Kadavu Island
Kadavu (pronounced ), with an area of , is the fourth largest island in Fiji, and the largest island in the ''Kadavu Group'', a volcanic archipelago consisting of Kadavu, Ono, Galoa and a number of smaller islands in the Great Astrolabe Reef. It ...
. With her he had two sons:
Jese and
Mosese, and a daughter, Vasiti Sikivou-Waqa.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikivou, Semesa
1917 births
1990 deaths
Alliance Party (Fiji) politicians
Alumni of the London School of Economics
University of Auckland alumni
Permanent Representatives of Fiji to the United Nations
Foreign ministers of Fiji
Fijian educators
I-Taukei Fijian members of the Legislative Council of Fiji
Politicians from Rewa Province
20th-century Fijian educators
Fijian expatriates in New Zealand