Timoci Uluivuda Bavadra (22 September 1934 – 3 November 1989) was a Fijian medical doctor who founded the

Fiji Labour Party The Fiji Labour Party (FLP; fj, Ilawalawa Cakacaka ni Viti), also known as Fiji Labour, is a political party in Fiji. Most of its support is from the Indo-Fijian community, although it is officially multiracial and its first leader was an i ...

and served as the

Prime Minister of Fiji The prime minister of Fiji is the head of government of the Republic of Fiji. The prime minister is appointed under the terms of the 2013 Constitution of Fiji. The prime minister is the head of the Cabinet and appoints and dismisses ministers ...

for one month in 1987. He was born in

Viseisei Viseisei () is a village at Vuda Point on the west coast of Viti Levu island, in Ba Province of Fiji. History According to tradition, it is the oldest settlement in Fiji, established by Lutunasobasoba when the first Melanesian canoes beached at V ...

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ) is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically complex area between the Australian ...

, and was medical doctor and politician by profession. Contesting his first

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

in 1987, Bavadra forged an electoral coalition between his Labour Party and the much older,

Indo-Fijian Indo-Fijians or Indian-Fijians (also known as Fiji Indians) are Fijian citizens of Indian descent, and include people who trace their ancestry to various regions of the Indian subcontinent.Girmit by Suresh Prasad Although Indo-Fijians constitu ...

-dominated

National Federation Party The National Federation Party is a Fijian political party founded by A.D. Patel in November 1968, as a merger of the Federation Party and the National Democratic Party. Though it claimed to represent all Fiji Islanders, it was supported, in p ...

. Although much larger, the NFP agreed to play a junior role in the coalition, aware that much of the ethnic Fijian community was not ready to accept an Indo-Fijian Prime Minister; even a government with a significant Indo-Fijian presence was itself bound to stretch the patience of ethnic Fijians. The election was a stunning upset. The Labour-NFP coalition captured 28 seats, four more than the Alliance Party, thereby ending the twenty-year reign of

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 Kamisese Mara, who, first as Chief Minister and subsequently as Prime Minister, had led Fiji since its pre-independence years. Although an ethnic Fijian, Bavadra had been elected mostly with the support of Indo-Fijians. Of the 28 members of his parliamentary caucus, only seven were ethnic Fijians, all of them elected from predominantly Indo-Fijian constituencies, a factor which caused considerable resentment among extremist sections of the Fijian population. Only nine percent of the ethnic Fijian electorate had voted for Bavadra's coalition, but even this was an unprecedented feat – a point that was largely overlooked. Bavadra was opposed to nuclear testing and had hinted that visits by nuclear-armed warships of the United States Navy might not be welcome. Allegations have been made that the United States either supported or allowed Lieutenant-Colonel

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 Minist ...

to stage the coup on 13 May 1987 that brought down Bavadra's government, allegations that Rabuka has never convincingly denied. Unable to reverse the coup, Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau formally dismissed Bavadra on 19 May. Bavadra made a tour of Commonwealth capitals, attempting to rally support, but got little more than sympathy. In London in June, Queen Elizabeth, on advice of the Fijian Governor-General, refused to meet him. After a period of negotiations, another coup, and a period of military rule, Ratu Mara again took office as Prime Minister on 5 December. Bavadra died of cancer in 1989.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bavadra, Timoci 1934 births 1989 deaths Deaths from cancer in Fiji Prime Ministers of Fiji Leaders ousted by a coup Fijian medical doctors I-Taukei Fijian members of the House of Representatives (Fiji) Politicians from Lautoka 20th-century physicians

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