Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Viliame Naupoto is the commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, appointed by

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 ...

Ratu Epeli Nailatikau on August 1, 2015 to replace Commander Mosese Tikoitoga, which took command in early 2014. Naupoto later served as Commander since December 2015. He joined the Republic of Fiji Military Forces in 1982 and served in the Fiji Navy. In 1994 he was the Captain of the newly commissioned RFNS ''Kula''. During his time in the military, he served as the Commander of Fiji Navy, Director Finance and Logistics and Commander. Previously, Naupoto served as Minister for Youth and Sports in 2012 in Fiji's interim government which took power in the wake of the 2006 coup. Also a former Commander of the Fijian Navy as well as 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 ...

Director of Immigration, the first post to which he was appointed on 8 January 2007 by the Public Service Commission on the advice of Interim

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 ...

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (Fijian: ʃoˈsɛia βoˈreŋɡe mbɛiniˈmarama born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian politician and former naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst ...

, who seized power in a

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 ...

on 5 December 2006. He was later appointed as the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Fisheries and Forests in 2009. Naupoto was appointed to replace Eroni Luveniyali, whom the Military suspended and later dismissed. According to a

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 ...

report on 9 January 2007, the appointment was made in defiance of a High Court order that Luveniyali be reinstated. In an interview with the

published on 23 January 2007, Naupoto said that Fiji's immigration system was replete with loopholes that allowed illegal immigrants to enter the country easily. This fueled corruption in the country, he claimed.

References

Fijian civil servants Fijian Navy officers Living people Fijian military leaders I-Taukei Fijian people Government ministers of Fiji Year of birth missing (living people) {{Fiji-bio-stub