Viliame Rogoibulu Gavoka (born 8 July 1950) is a Fijian politician and

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘ prime minister� ...

. From 28 November 2020 to 2022 he was leader 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 ...

, after ousting

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 ...

in the SODELPA leadership contest.

Early life

Gavoka studied at

Ratu Kadavulevu School Ratu Kadavulevu School is a school in Lodoni, Fiji. It has some 900 students and is one of the largest boarding schools in the country. Its students are multiracial, but predominantly Indigenous Fijians. The school was founded in 1924 as the Pr ...

when he was younger. He studied at the

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

for his tertiary education. He was the Chairman of the Fiji Visitors Bureau but was removed from the post in 2009 by the Bainimarama regime. In May 2009, he was appointed the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of the

Fiji Rugby Union Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Fiji. It is divided into over 30 provincial unions. The Fiji Rugby Union is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA), along with Samoa and Tonga. There are ...

. In June 2010, he made media headlines when he "prophesied" a natural disaster would hit Fiji on June 23 at 2.30 pm. He was charged for spreading rumours. His involvement in the 1 million dollar lottery scandal at FRU eventually led to him being sacked for the 2nd time as a chairman after Fiji's Commerce Commission found that the lottery had been improperly run. He joined the Fiji Holding Limited board as a director soon after. In July 2014, he resigned from the Fiji Holding board to enter politics.

Political career

Gavoka joined the SODELPA and ran in the 2014 general elections. He was elected an MP with 3,690 votes. He contested the party leadership in 2016 following the resignation of

Teimumu Kepa Ro Teimumu Vuikaba Kepa (born 18 December 1945) is a Fijian chief, former Member of the Parliament of Fiji, and former leader of the Social Democratic Liberal Party. She was the first Fijian woman to serve as Leader of the Opposition. She pre ...

, losing to

. He was re-elected at the 2018 election, winning 3536 votes.

SODELPA leader

In 2020 a dispute in SODELPA over the election of the party president led to different factions holding rival AGMs and to the suspension of the party by the Registrar of Political Parties. Following the lifting of the suspension, the party held a leadership contest, which was won by Gavoka. Following Gavoka's win, former leader Sitiveni Rabuka resigned from Parliament. On 9 December 2020, SODELPA MP's voted to install Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu as leader of the opposition rather than Gavoka, causing further tension in the party.

2022 election

During the 2022 election, SODELPA won three seats but became the kingmaker as neither

FijiFirst FijiFirst ( fj, iMatai ni Viti) is a liberal political party in Fiji. The party was formed in March 2014 by then Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. Formation The party was launched on 31 March 2014 with Bainimarama beginning a nationwide tour o ...

nor the

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 ...

- People's Alliance coalition obtained a majority. Once the final results were released, on 19 December, Gavoka's tenure as leader ended in accordance with SODELPA's constitution, which requires the party to choose a new leader if it fails to gain a parliamentary majority. SODELPA's General Secretary, Lenaitasi Duru, announced the party would not elect a successor until its annual general meeting in 2024. On 24 December 2022 he was appointed a Deputy Prime Minister (one of three) and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation in the coalition government of

Personal life

Gavoka's daughter, Ela married Fiji's attorney general,

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum (born 24 September 1965) is an Indo-Fijian politician and a cabinet minister. He is the Fijian attorney general and the Minister for Economy, Civil Service and Communications, and also serves the minister responsible for ...

, a wedding which he did not attend.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavoka, Viliame Living people 1950 births Politicians from Nadroga-Navosa Province University of the South Pacific alumni Social Democratic Liberal Party politicians Members of the Parliament of Fiji I-Taukei Fijian members of the Parliament of Fiji Tourism ministers of Fiji Deputy Prime Ministers of Fiji