After independence, the Chief Minister’s Office which is what the Office of the Prime Minister was called at that time, served the public with a handful of staff. The late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was the first Prime Minister with Mr. Robert Sanders serving as his Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Council of Ministers (or Secretary to Cabinet).
Left to Right-Sitting: Minister without portfolio Ratu George Cakobau, Minister for Urban Development Vijay Singh, Attorney-General John Falvey, Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, Deputy Prime Minister Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau, Minister of Finance Charles Stinson, Minister of Agriculture Dough Brown.
Standing: Minister of Health James Shankar Singh, Minister of Fijian Affairs Ratu Wili Toganivalu, Minister for Home Affairs Ratu Penaia Ganilau, Minister for Lands Ratu Josua Toganivalu, Minister for Social Services Jonati Mavoa, Minister for Education Jone Naisara, Secretary to Cabinet Robert Sanders.
Inset: Minister for Commerce Mohammed Khan (Source: Mara, Ratu Sir Kamisese: “The Pacific Way: A Memoir”, University of Hawaii Press, 1997)
Caption: 1972 Cabinet after the first elections under the 1970 Constitution.
Below are Fiji’s former Prime Ministers and the terms they served:
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
10 October 1970 – 13 April 1987
Mr. Timoci Bavadra
13 April 1987 – 14 May 1987
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
5 December 1987 – 2 June 1992
Major-General Sitiveni Rabuka
2 June 1992 – 19 May 1999
Mr. Mahendra Chaudhry
19 May 1999 – 27 May 2000
Ratu Tevita Momoedonu
27 May 2000
Mr. Laisenia Qarase
4 July 2000 – 14 March 2001
Ratu Tevita Momoedonu
14 March 2001 – 16 March 2001 (interim)
Mr. Laisenia Qarase
16 March 2001 – 5 December 2006
Dr. Jona Baravilala Senilagakali
5 December 2006 – 4 January 2007
Mr. Josaia Voreqe “Frank” Bainimarama
5 January 2007 – till date