Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

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 ...

Meli Saubulinayau is a former Fijian career

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

, who, as of January 2006, headed the Strategic Unit in Suva. He was appointed to the post at the beginning of January 2006. Previously the Acting Land Force Commander, he had been effectively the second in rank to

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 ...

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 ...

, the Commander

Republic of Fiji Military Forces The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF, formerly the Royal Fiji Military Forces) is the military force of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of about 4,000 active soldiers and approximately 6,000 reservists, it is one ...

, and it was rumoured that he had been removed from this post because of differences with the Commander, but Military spokesman Captain Neumi Leweni denied this on 13 January 2006, according to the

Fiji Times ''The Fiji Times'' is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869 by George Littleton Griffiths, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating. ''The Fiji Times'' is owned by Motibhai G ...

. The previous day, the

Fiji Live ''Fijilive'' is an online newspaper and business and cultural directory in Fiji. The site is owned by the Future Group of Companies owned by Fiji entrepreneur Yashwant Gaunder. ''Fijilive'' is one of Fiji's largest websites. The site rose to ...

news service reported that Saubulinayau had been called in to mediate between Bainimarama and the new Acting Land Force Commander, Lieutenant Colonel

Jone Baledrokadroka Colonel Jone Baledrokadroka is a former career soldier who joined the Army in 1981 and was commissioned after attending an Officers commissioning course in Fiji. He was briefly the Acting Land Force Commander in January 2006. He was dismissed fr ...

, but Leweni and Bainimarama both denied that the confrontation, alleged to be over Bainimarama's anti-government rhetoric and threats to depose the government, had taken place. All Military meetings that day had been routine, they insisted. On 31 October 2006, while Bainimarama was in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

visiting Fijian forces on peacekeeping duties in the Middle East, President

Josefa Iloilo Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, (29 December 1920 – 6 February 2011) was a Fijian politician who served as the 3rd President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009, excluding a brief period from 5 December 2006 to 4 January 2007 (see below). He ...

accepted government counsel by moving to terminate the Bainimarama's command. In his place, he appointed Saubulinayau, who declined to take the position. Senior Fijian military officers publicly backed Bainimarama who reiterated previous calls for the government to resign. Saubulinayau was subsequently sent on leave pending an investigation into alleged insubordination, in connection with the attempted dismissal of Bainimarama. Saubulinayau's resignation from the military was announced in February, 2007.

Meli Saubulinayau is from the chiefly village of

Tubou Tubou is a village on the Fijian island of Lakeba. One of eight villages on Lakeba, it is considered the capital of the Lau Islands, being the seat of the Vuanirewa clan, a powerful chiefly family from which Fiji's longtime Prime Minister and Pre ...

, on

Lakeba Lakeba (pronounced ) is an island in Fiji’s Southern Lau Archipelago; the provincial capital of Lau is located here. The island is the tenth largest in Fiji, with a land area of nearly 60 square kilometers.Steadman (2006) It is fertile and wel ...

, making him a member of the

Vuanirewa The Vuanirewa is the ruling tribe (yavusa) of the Lau Islands, a scattered group of more than a hundred islands (16 inhabited) and reefs along the eastern edge of Fiji. Origins The members of this clan all hail from the village of Tubou on th ...

, the ruling household of the

Lau Islands The Lau Islands aka little Tonga (also called the Lau Group, the Eastern Group, the Eastern Archipelago) of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about sixty islands and islets, about thirty ...

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Fijian soldiers People from Lakeba Vuanirewa Fijian chiefs {{Oceania-mil-bio-stub