Satya N. Nandan, CF,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(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 The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) is both a general and a tuna regional fisheries management organisation established to conserve and manage tuna and other highly migratory fish stocks across the western and central area ...

, where he served a two-year term commencing 1 January 2009.Fiji’s Satya Nandan is new chair of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
Pacific Islands News Association, 12 December 2008. Previously, he was the first Secretary-General of the

International Seabed Authority The International Seabed Authority (ISA) (french: Autorité internationale des fonds marins) is a Kingston, Jamaica-based intergovernmental body of 167 member states and the European Union established under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of ...

, a position he held for three consecutive four-year terms from March 1996 until December 2008. Ambassador Nandan was a Fiji Indian who held a law degree from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and was a Barrister-at-Law of Lincoln’s Inn,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was also a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Fiji. He was a representative of Fiji at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(1970–76 and 1993–95) and was Fiji’s Ambassador to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(1976-1980). He served as Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Fiji.

Accomplishments

Ambassador Nandan has had an extensive career in international relations, both as representative of his country and head of several intergovernmental bodies. Some of his numerous positions include: *Representative of Fiji to

committees on decolonization, disarmament, legal and political matters. *Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Law of the Sea (1983-1992). *Chairman of the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks (1993–95). *Chairman of the Multilateral High Level Conference, which negotiated the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (1997-2000). *President of the meeting of the States Parties to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1994-1996). *Head of the Fiji delegation to the Seabed Committee of the United Nations (1970-1973) and to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) (1973-1982). *Chairman of UNCLOS working groups on the Exclusive Economic Zone,

delimitation Boundary delimitation (or simply delimitation) is the drawing of boundaries, particularly of electoral precincts, states, counties or other municipalities.

maritime boundaries A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earth's water surface areas using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Bound ...

and the high seas (1975). *Chairman of Negotiating Group 4 of the Conference, which dealt with the participation by landlocked and geographically disadvantaged States in the exploitation of the living resources of the neighbouring exclusive economic zones. *Chairman of an UNCLOS group on production policy relating to deep

seabed mining Seabed mining, also known as Seafloor mining is the recovery of minerals from the seabed by techniques of underwater mining. The concept includes mining at shallow depths on the continental shelf and deep-sea mining at greater depths associated w ...

. *Chairman of the

Group of 77 The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations (UN) is a coalition of 134 developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 fou ...

developing States (1978-1979). *Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP) to the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

(EEC) in Brussels. He participated in the negotiations for Lome I, II and III Conventions between the ACP Group of States and the EEC. *General Editor and Co-Author of the Law of the Sea Commentary series, published by the Center for Oceans Law and Policy of the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

. *Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the

United Nations International School The United Nations International School (UNIS) is a private international school in New York City, established in 1947. Many members of the United Nations staff arriving with young families found unexpected difficulties with New York's school sys ...

in New York (1996-2001). *Distinguished Senior Fellow, Center for Oceans Law and Policy,

. *Distinguished Visitor and Speaker,

Centre for International Law The Centre for International Law (CIL) was established in 2009 at the National University of Singapore, in response to the growing need for international law expertise and capacity building in the Asia-Pacific region. The CIL engages in research a ...

, National University of Singapore (March–April 2015).

Awards

Ambassador Nandan was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

, Halifax, Nova Scotia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

(2012), an honorary Doctorate by the

University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public university, public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and ...

(1996) and an honorary Doctor of Laws by the Memorial University of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

(1995). He was accorded the rank of

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in 1978 and was awarded Fiji’s highest honour,

Companion of the Order of Fiji The Order of Fiji is the highest 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 military division, ...

(CF), in 1997. He was honoured with the award of the Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

by the President of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(1996). He was married and has one son.

References

External sources

Satya N. Nandan: Biographical Note.
International Seabed Authority, Press Release SB/10/14, 2 June 2004.
Curriculum Vitae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nandan, Satya 1936 births 2020 deaths Alumni of the University of London Fijian Hindus Permanent Representatives of Fiji to the United Nations Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Companions of the Order of Fiji Ambassadors of Fiji to the European Union Ambassadors of Fiji to Belgium Ambassadors of Fiji to France Ambassadors of Fiji to Italy Ambassadors of Fiji to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Fiji to the Netherlands International Seabed Authority people 20th-century Fijian lawyers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Members of Lincoln's Inn Fijian people of Indian descent