Jioji Kotobalavu
Jioji Kotobalavuis a formerFijiancivil servant who served as chief executive in thePrime Minister's officeunder five Prime Ministers. He now works as a lecturer at theUniversity of Fiji.
Kotobalavu was born on the island ofOneatainLau Provinceand educated atLelean Memorial SchoolandQueen Victoria School.[1]He graduated with an MA from theUniversity of Aucklandand a Diploma of Diplomacy fromOxford University.[1]After returning to Fiji he was appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs, becoming Fiji's youngest permanent secretary.[1]In 1981 he was appointed ambassador toJapan.[2]In 1986 he left the civil service to head theSouth Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission.[3]In 1992 he was nominated to head theSouth Pacific Commission,but withdrew his nomination suddenly to take up the position of permanent secretary to the Fijian Prime Minister's Office.[4]
On 23 September 2005, he was made to apologise to theHigh Court of Fijifor making statements defending the Prime MinisterLaisenia Qarase,against allegations of involvement in a Ministry of Agriculture scandal, in which more than F$30 million was allegedly misappropriated. JusticeNazhat Shameemruled Kotobalavu's comments to be in contempt of court and ordered him to apologise and to refrain from making any further statements until after the trial.[5]
He was dismissed by the military regime during the2006 Fijian coup d'état.[6]He was later employed as a consultant for office of thePrime Minister of Samoa.
Following the coup he studied law at theUniversity of Fiji,and was later employed as a lecturer in public law.[7]
References[edit]
- ^abc"JIOJI KOTOBALAVU: Fiji's most powerful and wealthiest public servant".Islands Business. Archived fromthe originalon 10 August 2010.
- ^"People".Pacific Islands Monthly.Vol. 52, no. 7. 1 July 1981. p. 41.Retrieved16 February2023– via National Library of Australia.
- ^Josefa Nata (1 November 1989)."SOPAC Coming of age".Pacific Islands Monthly.Vol. 59, no. 22. p. 22.Retrieved16 February2023– via National Library of Australia.
- ^"Starting off with a bang".Pacific Islands Monthly.Vol. 62, no. 12. 1 December 1992. p. 10.Retrieved16 February2023– via National Library of Australia.
- ^"Judge reprimands chief executive of Fiji PM's office".RNZ. 24 September 2005.Retrieved16 February2023.
- ^"Fiji president signs decree to validate all military decisions".RNZ. 19 January 2007.Retrieved16 February2023.
- ^"Interview with Lecturer Mr. Jioji Kotobalavu"(PDF).University of Fiji.Retrieved16 February2023.
- Fijian civil servants
- People from Lau Province
- Living people
- People educated at Lelean Memorial School
- Alumni of the University of Oxford
- Ambassadors of Fiji to Japan
- I-Taukei Fijian people
- Fijian expatriates in Samoa
- University of Auckland alumni
- People educated at Queen Victoria School (Fiji)
- Academic staff of the University of Fiji