Viliame Seruvakula is a former Fijian

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

officer who played an instrumental role in the aftermath of 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 ...

. He is the son of former politician Ratu

Semi Seruvakula Ratu Semi Bayameyame Seruvakula (died 4 December 2018 aged 85) was a Fijian chief and former politician, who served as Assistant Minister for Education in the interim Cabinet formed by Laisenia Qarase in the wake of the Fiji coup of 2000. He hel ...

. He attended Ratu Sukuna Memorial,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

and

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 ...

s. He was a member of the

Deans Trophy The Deans Trophy is the highest award in the Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union. The annual competition was introduced in 1939 and is the oldest tournament in the Fiji rugby union. The trophy was first won by Queen Victoria School and the current c ...

winning Lelean Under-19 Team side that defeated

Ratu Kadavulevu School Ratu Kadavulevu School is a school in Lodoni, Fiji. It has some 900 students and is one of the largest boarding schools in the country. Its students are multiracial, but predominantly Indigenous Fijians. The school was founded in 1924 as the Pr ...

in the Fiji Secondary Schools Rugby Union (FSSRU) competition finals in 1979. Seruvakula joined the army in the early 1980s and served in the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a l ...

and in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

from 1986 to 1987 as a platoon commander in the Charlie company of the First Battalion, Fiji Infantry Regiment. He opposed the 2000 coup, and when rebels from the

Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit The Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit or CRWU was the common name for the First Meridian Squadron, the unit's formal name, which had been disbanded in 2000. It was the only special forces group of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, and was the ...

mutinied Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among members ...

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

's Queen Elizabeth Barracks on 2 November 2000, he led the third infantry battalion in a counter-offensive to retake the barracks from the rebels. Following the mutiny, Seruvakula made some controversial statements in the media. He alleged that he had been offered F$250,000 to support

George Speight George Speight (born 1957) is a Fijian businessman and politician who was the leader of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état, in which he and rebel soldiers from Fiji's Counter Revolutionary Warfare Unit seized the Fijian Parliament and held Prime Ministe ...

's attempted coup in May, and that former Prime Minister

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 ...

(who led two coups in 1987) had incited the mutiny and attempted to overthrow the military commander, Commodore

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 ...

. His police statement became the subject of several investigations, and Rabuka was charged but ultimately acquitted as a result of his allegations. Seruvakula joined the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

in 2001. He resigned from the military in early 2006 to take up a post with the Peace and Security division of the United Nations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seruvakula, Viliame Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People educated at Lelean Memorial School Fijian soldiers People educated at Queen Victoria School (Fiji) Fijian expatriates in New Zealand Fijian expatriates in Lebanon I-Taukei Fijian people