Harish Sharma

Infobox Politician (general)
name= Harish Sharma


image_width=
title= House of Representatives (Fiji)
Nadi Indian Communal Constituency
term_start= 1972
term_end= 1987
predecessor=
successor=
title2= Leader of Opposition (Fiji)
term_start2= 1986
term_end2= 1987
predecessor2=Sidiq Koya
successor2= Kamisese Mara
title3=Deputy Speaker of House of Representative
term_start3=1977
term_end3=1982
predecessor3=
successor3=
title4=Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Housing, Urban Development and Information
term_start4=1987
term_end4=1987
predecessor4=
successor4=
title5=House of Representatives (Fiji)
Malomalo North/Nadi Rural Indian Communal Constituency
term_start5=1994
term_end5=1999
predecessor5=
successor5=
birth_date= 1932
birth_place= Nausori, Fiji
death_date=
death_place=
party=
residence= Sydney, Australia
spouse=
profession= Lawyer
religion= Hindu
footnotes=

Harish Chandra Sharma was a Fiji Indian politician who became the leader of the National Federation Party in 1987 and was the leader of the organisation representing most of the Hindus in Fiji, the Shree Sanatan Dharam Pratinidhi Sabha of Fiji.

Early life

Sharma was born in Nausori, Fiji in 1932. He worked as a civil servant and as an insurance agent before departing for Tasmania in 1960, where he received the LL.B. from the University of Tasmania in 1964. On his return to Fiji he first worked for Sidiq Koya then for A.D. Patel, before setting up his own law firm in 1969. He was nominated to the Senate by the Leader of the Opposition in 1970 and remained a Senator until the 1972 general election. cite book |last=Howard |first=Michael |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Fiji: Race and politics in an island state |year=1991 |publisher= UBC Press|location=Vancouver |isbn= 0-7748-0368-1 | pages p.384]

Political career

He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1972 as a candidate for the National Federation Party. He has contested a total of seven elections, without losing any. In 1987 he was chosen as the leader of the National Federation Party. He was instrumental in forming a coalition with the Fiji Labour Party with the coalition winning the 1987 elections. He was appointed the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Housing, Urban Affairs and Information in the month long Government of Timoci Bavadra, which was deposed by Sitiveni Rabuka.

He re-entered Parliament in the 1994 general election, representing the Malomalo North/Nadi Rural Indian Constituency [cite news|title= Fiji Times '94 General Election Scoreboard|url= |work= |publisher=Fiji Times |date= 28 February 1994|accessdate=2007-06-11 ] and served as Deputy Leader of Opposition under Jai Ram Reddy until 1999. At present he resides in Sydney, Australia

References