Timoci Qiolevu Silatolu, sometimes known by his chiefly title of '' Ratu,'' is a former

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 politician. A

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

engineer by profession, he originates from the Chiefly village of

Lomanikoro Lomanikoro () is a village in the Rewa Province of 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 li ...

in the province of

Rewa Rewa may refer to: Places Fiji * Rewa (Fijian Communal Constituency, Fiji), a former electoral division of Fiji * Rewa Plateau, between the Kaimur and Vindhya Ranges in Madhya Pradesh * Rewa Province, Fiji * Rewa River, the widest river in Fiji ...

. He is married to Salome Silatolu, a school teacher. They have four children.

Political career

As a candidate of the Fijian Association Party, Silatolu was elected to represent the

Fijian Communal Constituency in the House of Representatives 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 1999. Although his party formed part of the People's Coalition government that was subsequently formed, Silatolu was not appointed to 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 ...

. Silatolu was appointed Assistant Minister of Health in the interim government organized by

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 ...

in July 2000. He contested the

held to restore democracy in September 2001 as a candidate of the Conservative Alliance, comprising mostly Speight-sympathizers, but lost his seat to his cousin, Ro Teimumu Kepa 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 conser ...

.''

Support for Unity Bill

Silatolu said that he supported 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 ...

, a controversial piece of legislation promoted by

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 Attorney-General

Qoriniasi Bale Qoriniasi Babitu Bale (1941 — 21 March 2014) was a lawyer and politician who served twice as Fiji's Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, most recently from 2001 to 2006, when he was deposed in the military coup of 5 December. Like many of ...

. The legislation would have established a Commission empowered to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of coup-related offenses.

Coup

Silatolu was convicted of involvement in the

2000 Fijian coup d'état The Fiji coup d'état of 2000 was a civilian coup d'état by hardline i-Taukei (ethnic Fijian) nationalists against the elected government of an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry on 19 May 2000. This was followed by an attempt on ...

and was sentenced to imprisonment. At one time he was facing a death sentence. Fiji coup convicts warned they may face death sentence
, tonews.com, August 2010, accessed December 2010 As of 2015, Silatolu is still serving his sentence.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silatolu, Timoci I-Taukei Fijian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Living people Fijian Association Party politicians Conservative Alliance-Matanitu Vanua politicians Fijian chiefs Politicians from Lomanikoro Year of birth missing (living people)