The Tui Cakau is the Paramount Chief of

Cakaudrove Province Cakaudrove is one of fourteen provinces of Fiji, and one of three based principally on the northern island of Vanua Levu, occupying the south-eastern third of the island and including the nearby islands of Taveuni, Rabi, Kioa, and numerous other i ...

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 ...

. In Modern Fiji this chiefly title is regarded as the most senior in the Tovata Confederacy, and the third most senior in the country.

Recent history

The current ''Tui Cakau'' is Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu; he was installed on 8 May 2001 in succession to his father, Ratu Glanville Lalabalavu, who died in 1999. In April 2002, the courts dismissed a challenge from a rival claimant, Ratu Epeli Ganilau. Perhaps the best-known ''Tui Cakau'' in modern times was

Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau Ratu Sir Penaia Kanatabatu Ganilau (28 July 1918 – 15 December 1993) was the first President of Fiji, serving from 8 December 1987 until his death in 1993. He had previously served as Governor-General of Fiji, representing Elizabeth II, Que ...

, who held the title from 1988 to 1993. He was Fiji's last

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 ...

and first

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 ...

. The present ''Tui Cakau,'' Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, led a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

, the Conservative Alliance (CAMV) and was a Minister in the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Laisenia Qarase Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase ...

from 2000 to 2005, when he was convicted of involvement in the

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

that deposed the elected government in 2000. On 3 April he became the first-ever Cabinet Minister to be imprisoned while in office, and resigned from the Cabinet four days later. He was released on 14 April, to serve the remainder of his eight-month sentence extramurally. He is the highest-ranked

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

in modern times to have been imprisoned. Following his release, Lalabalavu was reinstated as a Cabinet Minister. The CAMV merged with Prime Minister Qarase's

Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua The United Fiji Party ( fj, Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua, SDL) was a political party in Fiji. It was founded in 2001 by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase as a power base; it absorbed most of the Christian Democratic Alliance and other conse ...

(SDL) ahead of the 2006 elections, and Lalabalavu remained in both Parliament and the Cabinet until a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

deposed the government on 5 December 2006. He returned to Parliament at the

2014 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2014. * 2014 United Nations Security Council election 16 October 2014 Africa * 2014 Algerian presidential election 17 April 2014 * 2014 Botswana general election 24 October 2014 * 2014 Comorian presi ...

as a candidate of the

Social Democratic Liberal Party The Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) is a Fijian political party. The party was formed in January 2013 after the dissolution of the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua. The party currently has no party leader. History Party foundation ...

(SDLP), the successor to the SDL.

A brief history

The ''Tui Cakau'' ruled what was effectively an independent state until 1865, when Cakaudrove joined the

Confederacy of Independent Kingdoms of Viti Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

under the chairmanship of

Seru Epenisa Cakobau Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau (; occasionally spelled ''Cacobau'' or phonetically ''Thakombau'') (c.1815 – 1 February 1883) was a Fijian Ratu and warlord ('' Vunivalu'') who united part of Fiji's warring tribes under his leadership, establishing ...

, the

Vunivalu of Bau Turaga na Vunivalu na Tui Kaba is the Paramount Chief of the Kubuna Confederacy, loosely translated the title means ''Warlord of Bau'' or Root of War. The succession to the title does not follow primogeniture, but the candidate must be a high-r ...

. This lasted only until 1867, when the Confederacy was split into two units, the Kingdom of Bau (ruled by Cakobau) and the Confederation of Lau (consisting of the present-day provinces of Cakaudrove, Bua, and

Lau Lau or LAU may refer to: People * Lau (surname) * Liu (劉/刘), a common Chinese family name transliterated Lau in Cantonese and Hokkien * Lau clan, one of the Saraswat Brahmin clans of Punjab * LAU (musician): Laura Fares Places * Lebane ...

). The then ''Tui Cakau'', Ratu Goleanavanua, became the first ''Captain Supreme'' of the Confederation of Lau; he was succeeded two years later by

Enele Ma'afu Enele is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Enele Maʻafu ( 1816–1881), Tongan chief * Enele Malele (born 1990), Fijian rugby union player * Enele Sopoaga (born 1956), Tuvaluan diplomat and politician * Enele Taufa (bor ...

, who reigned until the Confederation of Lau joined the united

Kingdom of Viti The Kingdom of Fiji, also known as the Kingdom of Viti, was a short-lived monarchy in Fiji. It existed from 1871 to 1874, with Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau as King. History The Kingdom of Fiji was the first unified Fijian state, and it covered ...

in 1871.

Title holders

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, , 1988 - 1993, , 28 July 1918 - 15 December 1993 , - , 14., , Ratu Glanville Lalabalavu, , 1993 - 1999, , 1929 - 29 October 1999 , - , 15., , Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, , 8 May 2001 – present, , ...

References

* Fiji. - Page 215, by Korina Miller, Robyn Jones, Leonardo Pinheiro - Published by Lonely Planet, 2003. ''reference to The Tui Cakau''. * Apologies To Thucydides: Understanding History as Culture and Vice Versa - Page 283, by Marshall David Sahlins, Published by University of Chicago Press. ''reference to The Tui Cakau''.
Tradition Versus Democracy in the South Pacific
Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa By Stephanie Lawson - Page 55, Published by Cambridge University Press.

External links

Fijian chiefs