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Fiji - Government and Political Conditions (Notes)

GOVERNMENT Under the Fiji constitution, the president (head of state) is appointed for a 5-year term by the Great Council of Chiefs, a traditional ethnic Fijian leadership body. The president in turn appoints the prime minister (head of government) and Cabinet from among the members of Parliament. Both houses of the legislature have some seats reserved by ethnicity. Other seats can be filled by persons of any ethnic group. The House of Representatives is elected; the Senate is appointed. Since the December 2006 coup, the self-appointed interim government has ruled by decree. Fiji maintains an independent judiciary consisting of a Supreme Court, a Court of Appeals, a High Court, and magistrate courts. All but one of the five judges on the Supreme Court also is a serving judge in Australia or New Zealand. There are four administrative divisions--central, eastern, northern and western--each under the charge of a commissioner. Ethnic Fijians have their own administration in which councils preside over a hierarchy of provinces, districts, and villages. The councils deal with all matters affecting ethnic Fijians. The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga) is made up of 55 hereditary chiefs, most of whom are nominated to the Council by their respective provincial councils. It is established under the Fijian Affairs Act and recognized by the constitution. Principal Government Officials Head of State (President)--Josefa Iloilo Head of Government (Prime Minister)--Laisenia Qarase (deposed in December 2006 coup) Minister of Foreign Affairs--Kaliopate Tavola (deposed in December 2006 coup) Ambassador to the United States--Jesoni Vitusagavulu Ambassador to the United Nations--vacant Fiji maintains an embassy at Suite 240, 2233 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 (tel: 202-337-8320).