Queen of Fiji

The title of Queen of Fiji was held by Queen Elizabeth II between 1972 and 1987. The constitutional monarchy of Fiji was replaced by a republic following two military coups carried out in 1987 by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. After the first coup on May 14, the then Governor-General, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, attempted to uphold the constitution, but a second coup forced him to resign as Governor-General on 15 October 1987, thus ending Fiji's 113 year union with the British Crown and later Commonwealth Crown.

Though Fiji was for a period expelled from the Commonwealth of Nations and is now a republic within the Commonwealth, the Queen's effigy is still displayed on Fiji's coinage, her royal insignia and arms still feature on public property and Queen's Birthday remains a public holiday. The Queen and the royal family retain widespread affection among the Fijian people, and there have also been sporadic public debates over the years on whether to return Fiji to a constitutional monarchy.

Sitiveni Rabuka, who instigated two military coups in 1987, later presented a tabua, or tooth of a sperm whale to Queen Elizabeth in 1997 during the Commonwealth Heads of Government conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. This gesture from Rabuka, by now the Prime Minister, is a traditional sign of profound respect and was given as an apology for having broken his oath of allegiance to her as an officer of the Military of Fiji.

Although Fiji is now a republic, the Great Council of Chiefs, a formal body of mostly hereditary chiefs, continues to recognize Queen Elizabeth II as its Paramount Chief, as was officially confirmed by the Great Council in 1998. The majority of the members of this Council are descendants and blood relatives of the chiefs who ceded Fiji to Queen Victoria, Elizabeth's great-great-grandmother, in 1874. The declaration by the Great Council of Chiefs affirming Queen Elizabeth's rights as Paramount Chief is unique, as it indicates she takes precedence over the President of the Republic of Fiji, who again can only be selected from a chiefly house and member of the GCC. Her traditional title in Fijian as decided by the Great Council of Chiefs meeting in 1961, is Ilisapeci-Na Radi ni Viti kei Peritania, or interpreted Elizabeth- Queen of Fiji and Great Britain. Alternatively her title could also be Ilisapeci-Na Tui Viti, translating King of Fiji (there is no feminine form of the title). This is in reference to the RatuSeru Epenisa Cakobau's cession of Fiji and therefore the title to Queen Victoria, and the motto on the national flag "Fear God and honour the King"."

In 2002, the Great Council of Chiefs' chairman, Ratu Epeli Ganilau, stated that Elizabeth II was still Queen of Fiji [ [http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=2883 "Fiji chiefs say Britain’s Elizabeth still Queen of Fiji"] , Radio New Zealand International, November 19, 2002] . Although this position no longer confers any constitutional prerogatives, it remains as an honorific title.

ee also

*Tui Viti
*Paramount Chief of Fiji

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