The

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 honours system dates from the granting of

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

status in 1970, when the Fijian Independence Medal was awarded to participants in the Fijian independence celebrations. Prior to two military coups, which deposed

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 her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Queen of Fiji The monarchy of Fiji arose in the nineteenth century, when native ruler Seru Epenisa Cakobau consolidated control of the Fijian Islands in 1871 and declared himself King or paramount chief of Fiji ( fj, Tui Viti). In 1874, he voluntarily ced ...

, ending the

monarchy of Fiji The monarchy of Fiji arose in the nineteenth century, when native ruler Seru Epenisa Cakobau consolidated control of the Fijian Islands in 1871 and declared himself King or paramount chief of Fiji ( fj, Tui Viti). In 1874, he voluntarily ceded ...

, Fiji also had use of the British Honours System.

Republican honours

After Fiji was declared a republic, outside the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

in October 1987, there was no full honours system until 1995. However, in 1988 the

Fiji Republic Medal 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 ...

was established with a military and civil division. The medal was awarded for meritorious and faithful service in the military, disciplined services, or civil service. For Fijian civilians, the medal was awarded for outstanding public service to Fiji. In 1995 with the passage of the Honours and Awards Act, 1995 established the

Order of Fiji The Order of Fiji is the highest Order (honour), honour of the Fijian honours system. Established 1 March 1995, the order is presented for achievement and merit to Fiji and mankind as a whole. The order is divided into a general division and mili ...

and a system of civil, military, and awards for the disciplined services. One recipient was Sir

Paul Reeves Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

, a former

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

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 ...

, who was awarded this honour for his work in drafting the 1997

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

by the then

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 ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to re ...

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

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 ...

. Also made a Companion in 1997 was

Satya Nandan Satya N. Nandan, CF, CBE (July 10, 1936 – February 25, 2020), was a diplomat and lawyer from Fiji specializing in ocean affairs, was Chairman of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, where he served a two-year term commencing 1 ...

. Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir

Michael Somare Sir Michael Thomas Somare (9 April 1936 – 26 February 2021) was a Papua New Guinean politician. Widely called the "father of the nation" (), he was the first Prime Minister after independence. At the time of his death, Somare was also the lo ...

was made a Companion during a state visit in 2006. The Order of Fiji has been a Commonwealth honour since 1997, when Fiji returned to its membership of the Commonwealth, albeit, as a

republic in the Commonwealth of Nations The republics in the Commonwealth of Nations are the sovereign states in the organisation with a republican form of government. , 36 out of the 56 member states were republics. Charles III, who is the reigning monarch in the Commonwealth realms ...

. Ben Ryan, was appointed a Companion of the Order of Fiji for coaching the Fijian Rugby Sevens team, who won a gold medal at the

2016 Summer Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Order of Fiji

The Order of Fiji is the most senior in the Fijian honours system. There are 3 grades plus a Medal, in General and Military division. Recipients of the Order are allowed post-nominal letters. The seniority within the Order are: * Companion (CF) * Officer (OF) * Member (MF) * Medal (MOF)

Other honours

The College of Honour oversees the recommendations for the Order of Fiji as well as nominations for Civilian Bravery Awards, referring them to the

President of Fiji The president of Fiji is the head of state of the Republic of Fiji. The president is appointed by the Parliament for a three-year term under the terms of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji. Although not entirely a figurehead, the role of president ...

for approval. Nominations for awards of the uniformed services and the public service are made by the appropriate government minister and submitted to the President for approval. Some of the other honours of Fiji with their

post-nominal Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...

s are as follows:Tamplin, J.M.A. Honours and Awards of the Republic of Fiji. ''The Journal of the Orders and Medals Research Society'', Spring 1998, Vol 37, No. 1 (238) ;Civilian Bravery Awards * President's Cross (PC) * President's Medal (PM) * Bravery Medal (BM) ;Fiji Military Forces Awards *Operational Gallantry Awards: **President's War Cross (PWC) **Cross of Gallantry (CG) **Medal of Gallantry (MG) **Battle Commendation *Operational Leadership Awards: **Distinguished Command Cross (DCC) **Command Medal (CM) **Commendation for Leadership **Meritorious Service Decoration (MSD) - For military officers for 15 years service. **Meritorious Service Award (MSA) - For members of the military under the rank of warrant officer for 15 years service. **Service Decoration (SD) - For officers of the Territorial Force for 15 years service **Service Award (SA) - For members of the Territorial Force under the rank of warrant officer for 15 years service. **General Service Medal - For active service in the Pacific 1939–45, Malaya 1952–1956, or after 1 June 1978 for a period of not less than 12 months in Lebanon, Sinai with the

Multinational Force and Observers The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) is an international peacekeeping force overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. The MFO generally operates in and around the Sinai peninsula, ensuring free navigation through ...

, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Zimbabwe with the Commonwealth Supervisory Force, Somalia, Angola, or such other service which may be subsequently approved. ;Fiji Police Awards *Fiji Police Medal (FPM) - Awarded for Bravery, valuable services, or leadership. *Fiji Police Long Service Medal - Awarded for 18 years of service. Clasps are awarded for an additional 7 years, and then 5 years of service. *Fiji Overseas Service Medal - A police general service medal. Clasps are worn to show the country of overseas service.

References

External links

*Honours Awards of Fij

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fijian Honours System Fiji and the Commonwealth of Nations Society of Fiji Orders, decorations, and medals of Fiji Honours systems