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User:Peter Ormond/Monarchy of Fiji (1970–1987)

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Queen of Fiji
Coat of arms of Fiji
Elizabeth II
Details
StyleHer Majesty
Formation10 October 1970
Abolition10 October 1987[a]
(1987 Fijian coups d'état)

The monarchy of Fiji was a system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign and head of state of Fiji from 1970 to 1987. Fiji shared the sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms, with the country's monarchy being separate and legally distinct. The monarch's operational and ceremonial duties were mostly delegated to her representative, the governor-general of Fiji.

The Fiji Independence Act 1970 transformed the crown colony of Fiji into the sovereign state of Fiji, with Elizabeth II as head of state. As such, she was officially titled Queen of Fiji, and in this capacity she toured the country in 1973, 1977 and 1982.

Following two military coups in 1987, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, Fiji became a republic. However, the Great Council of Chiefs continued to recognise Elizabeth II as Tui Viti, or the traditional Queen of Fiji, notwithstanding Fiji's status as a Commonwealth republic. The position was not constitutional, nor otherwise legal in nature. Elizabeth II did not use the title, nor did the Fijian government recognise it.

arose in the 19th century, when native ruler Seru Epenisa Cakobau consolidated control of the Fijian Islands in 1871 and declared himself king, or paramount chief, of Fiji (Fijian: Tui Viti). Three years later, he voluntarily ceded sovereignty of the islands to Britain, making Fiji a crown colony within the British Empire. On 10 October 1970, and after nearly a century of British rule, Fiji became a Commonwealth realm—an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations with Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji and head of state—with the official title of Dominion of Fiji.

The Council was disestablished in 2012, before being re-established in 2023.

History

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See also: Fiji during the time of Cakobau
Royal Standard of Cakobau as King of Fiji, 1871–1874

Tui Viti

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Seru Epenisa, known as "Cakobau", or "destroyer of Bau", ruled the short lived Kingdom of Fiji as Tui Viti, which translates as "King of Fiji" or "paramount chief of Fiji". On 8 December 1852, Cakobau succeeded as Vunivalu of Bau. Claiming that Bau had suzerainty over the remainder of Fiji, he asserted that he was the king of Fiji. However, Cakobau's claim was not accepted by other chiefs, who regarded him, at best, as the first among equals. Cakobau consequently engaged in constant warfare for almost nineteen years to unify the islands under his authority.

Supported by foreign settlers, he finally succeeded in creating a united Fijian kingdom in 1871, and established Levuka as his capital.[1] He decided to set up a constitutional monarchy, and the first legislative assembly met in November of that year. Both the legislature and the Cabinet were dominated by foreigners. He gave his war club to Queen Victoria on 10 October 1874, when he signed the Deed of Cession, that granted the British Empire sovereignty over the islands in 1874.[2]

Fijian independence

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Instruments of Independence 1970

Ninety-six years of British rule came to an end in 1970, and Fiji gained independence as a Commonwealth realm[3][4]—a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations with the British monarch, then Queen Elizabeth II, as head of state—though the then-Leader of the Opposition, Sidiq Koya, had envisioned an independent Fiji as a republic.[5] The official name of the country was the Dominion of Fiji.[6][7]

charles[1]

Constitutional role

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The Queen of Fiji was represented by a governor-general and was also queen of other countries, such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The Queen's realms were all independent from one another and the Queen acted independently in each realm; however, they shared the same person as monarch. As a constitutional monarchy, executive power was held by a prime minister, usually the leader of the majority party in an elected legislature. The prime minister was appointed by the governor-general.

Executive

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Foreign affairs

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Parliament

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Courts

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Royal style and title

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The proclamation of the Queen's title published in the Fiji Royal Gazette

Cultural role

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The Crown and Honours

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The Crown and the Military Forces

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Cap Badge of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces
The rank insignia of a Brigadier (left), Colonel (centre), and Lieutenant-Colonel (right) of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces featuring St Edward's Crown

The Crown and the Police Force

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Fijian royal symbols

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Flag of the Governor-General of Fiji (1970–1987)

[2]

Royal visits

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Prince Charles Fiji 1970

[3]

In March 1970 , the Queen , Prince Philip and Princess Anne had flown to Fiji to embark on Britannia before making their way to New Zealand .

The Prince of Wales visited in 1970 to represent the Queen at the independence celebrations.

The Prince of Wales visited in 1974 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fiji's link with Crown.

[4]

"Chiefs and People, You have received me as Queen of Fiji with the traditional and deeply impressive ceremony of welcome and I thank you for it. Each time I have seen it performed I have been made more conscious of its meaning and significance. It confirms those valued links, forged more than one hundred years ago, between Fiji and my family. It is almost as if the very distance we live apart draws us closer when we meet, and just as my family is deeply conscious of your trust and affection for the Crown, so we for our part have the warmest feelings for the people of Fiji." EIIR 1977 p13

[5][6]

Abolition and republic

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Main article: 1987 Fijian coups d'état

On 14 May 1987, a coup led by Sitiveni Rabuka resulted in the overthrow of the government of Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, who had been appointed following the general election that year.[8] The Supreme Court of Fiji ruled the coup unconstitutional and Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, with the public support of the Queen,[9] unsuccessfully attempted to assert executive power. He opened negotiations—known as the Deuba Talks—with both the deposed government and the Alliance Party, which most indigenous Fijians supported. These negotiations culminated in the Deuba Accord of 23 September 1987, which provided for a government of national unity, with both parties represented under the leadership of the Governor-General.[10]

Fearing that the gains of the first coup were about to be lost, Rabuka staged a second coup on 25 September. The Queen declared the Governor-General was the "sole legitimate source of the executive authority in Fiji" and expressed hope for "the process of restoring Fiji to constitutional normality."[9] Regardless, one week later, Rabuka abolished the monarchy, made Fiji a republic, and declared himself the head of state.[9][11] With the Queen now seeing the situation as untenable, she pressed Ganilau to resign as governor-general,[9] which he did on 15 October 1987. Speaking to Robert Hardman, Michael Heseltine, who had been in the British government at the time of the coups, said, "the Queen took the initiative to suggest to [Ganilau] that the time had come for him to accept that Fiji was now a republic [...] Mrs Thatcher [the British Prime Minister] was quite opposed to the idea of the Queen, as it were, abdicating. But, it wasn't up to her because it was as Queen of Fiji that she [Elizabeth] had come to this conclusion."[12] The Queen released a message stating she was "sad to think the ending of Fijian allegiance to the Crown should have been brought about without the people of Fiji being given an opportunity to express their opinion on the proposal."[9]

At their meeting that year, the heads of government of the member-states of the Commonwealth of Nations were divided on Fiji remaining in the organization. As such, Fiji's membership was deemed to have lapsed.[12]

Ten years later, after constitutional talks and an election, Rabuka presented a tabua—a tooth of a sperm whale—to Elizabeth II during the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. This gesture from Rabuka, by then the Prime Minister of Fiji, is a traditional sign of profound respect and was given as an apology for having broken his oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth as an officer of the Fijian military. The agreed constitution of 1997 provided for a president as head of state and chosen by the Great Council of Chiefs, a formal body of mostly hereditary chiefs. Fiji has since been a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations.

Current position

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Though Fiji has been a republic since 1987 and was suspended from the Commonwealth for a second time between 2009 and 2014, the Queen's effigy was still displayed on Fiji's currency and the Queen's Official Birthday remained a public holiday until 2012, when the government headed by Frank Bainimarama abolished it[13] and replaced the Queen's image on banknotes and coins with indigenous flora and fauna.[14][15] St Edward's Crown still forms part of military and police badges. The Queen and the royal family retained widespread affection among the Fijian people and there have been sporadic public debates on whether to return to a constitutional monarchy. The motto of the republic remains "fear God and honour the king"[16] or (Fijian: Rere vaka na kalou ka doka na Tui), which was adopted by Cakobau in 1871.[17]

The rank insignia of a Fijian Rear admiral (left) and Commissioner of the Fijian Police (right) featuring the St Edward's Crown

The Great Council of Chiefs debated Elizabeth II's role as "supreme tribal chief" and sovereign of Fiji in 1988.[18] On behalf of the Council, the Chairman, Epeli Ganilau, the son of Penaia Ganilau, said in 2002 that, "the royal Tui Viti and the Vunivalu titles had been bestowed upon the English throne in a traditional installation procedure in 1902 and confirmed in 1937". He reiterated that Elizabeth II was still the traditional queen, or paramount chief, of Fiji, or Tui Viti, even though this position no longer conferred any constitutional prerogatives and it was "not widely known that she is the paramount chief of Fiji in the traditional sense; only some of the Council members remembered her status."[19][20][21]

As Elizabeth II made no official claim to the Tui Viti title and it is not officially recognised by the current Fijian government, it remains dormant in usage. When the subject of restoration was broached by Sitiveni Rabuka during a meeting with the Queen in 1997, her response was simple: "Let the people decide".[22]

After another coup in 2000, further political tension led to a fourth coup in 2006. The Great Council of Chiefs was suspended in 2007[23] and the constitution, which gave the Council the right to appoint the head of state from among its members, was suspended in 2009. On 14 March 2012, the Council was formally de-established.[24]

During his premiership, Bainimarama expressed a desire to restore the monarchy in Fiji, having displayed portraits of the former Queen and her consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, above his office desk. He has also described himself as "a Queen's man"[12] and a monarchist: "I'm still loyal to the Queen. Many people are in Fiji. One of the things I'd like to do is see her restored as our monarch, to be Queen of Fiji again."[12][25]

In 2023, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka formally apologised to King Charles III at Buckingham Palace for his actions and the events of 1987, and reflected on his traditional apology or Matanigasau to Queen Elizabeth II in 1998.[26]

Notes

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  1. ^ Recognised as Tui Viti (Paramount Chief of Fiji) by Great Council of Chiefs in 1998, although this title was not recognised by the Fijian government.

References

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  1. ^ Cakobau, King of Fiji British Museum
  2. ^ "King Cakobau's Club". III(3) Pacific Islands Monthly. 19 October 1932. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  3. ^ McIntyre, David (2016), "Index", Winding Up the British Empire in the Pacific Islands, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780192513618, retrieved 27 April 2023
  4. ^ Tikoduadua, Mereseini; Hay, Ian, "Fiji Primary School Teachers' Perceptions of Classroom-Based Assessment", in Fan, Si; Fielding-Wells, Jill (eds.), What is Next in Educational Research?, Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, p. 297, ISBN 978-94-6300-524-1, retrieved 27 April 2023
  5. ^ McIntyre 2016, "The British Empire is Past History". Retreat From "Never" Land Begins: Tonga and Fiji, 1970
  6. ^ U.S. Department of State (1975) Countries of the world and their leaders, Gale Research Co., ISBN 0-8103-1046-5, p. 405
  7. ^ Handbook of Fiji, Pacific Publications, 1972, pages 6-7
  8. ^ Lal 2010, p. 350.
  9. ^ a b c d e Murphy, Philip (2013), Monarchy and the End of Empire, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 169, ISBN 978-0-19-921423-5, retrieved 27 April 2023
  10. ^ Lal 2010, p. 390.
  11. ^ "Historical timeline". Fiji Government. 13 September 2009. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009.
  12. ^ a b c d Murphy 2013, p. 170
  13. ^ "Fiji Scraps Queen's birthday holiday". NewstalkZB. 31 July 2012.
  14. ^ "Anger over plan to remove Queen from Fiji money". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013.
  15. ^ "Fiji's new flora and fauna design banknotes and coins". Reserve Bank of Fiji. 25 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 July 2013.
  16. ^ "Our country: National symbols" Archived 23 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine, government of Fiji
  17. ^ Smith, Whitney (1980). Flags and Arms across the World, London: Cassell, p. 250, ISBN 0-304-30659-2
  18. ^ "Fiji votes to make Queen 'supreme tribal chief'", Robert Keith Reid, The Independent, 20 July 1998
  19. ^ "Fiji chiefs say Britain's Elizabeth still Queen of Fiji". Radio New Zealand International. 19 November 2002. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  20. ^ "Queen still chief of Fiji", Sydney Morning Herald, 20 November 2002
  21. ^ "Britain's queen is still the 'king of Fiji'", IOL, 20 November 2002
  22. ^ "Still the Queen of Fiji?", AOL Canada, retrieved 23 November 2009 Archived 24 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ "Fiji coup leader sacks chiefs". Television New Zealand. Reuters. 12 April 2007. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  24. ^ "Fiji's Great Council of Chiefs abolished". 14 March 2012.
  25. ^ Despot for diversity, The Australian, May 1, 2009
  26. ^ https://pina.com.fj/2024/05/09/pm-rabuka-meets-with-king-charles-reaffirms-fiji-uk-relations/

Sources

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