Frank Bainimarama Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama , CF , MSD , OStJ , Fijian Navy , known commonly as Frank Bainimarama and sometimes by the chiefly title " Ratu " ( born 27 April 1954 ) , is a Fijian naval officer and politician who has been Prime Minister of Fiji since 2007 . He is the Commander of the Fijian Military Forces . While serving as Prime Minister , he has temporarily held various ministerial portfolios : Information , Home Affairs , Immigration , Public Service , Indigenous and Multi - Ethnic Affairs , Finance , and Foreign Affairs . Background . Bainimarama has taken power twice in Fiji ' s history , the first time as Head of the Interim Military Government of Fiji from 29 May to 13 July 2000 , after organising a counter - coup to neutralise the ethnic Fijian putsch led by George Speight . He handed power over to the newly appointed President Ratu Josefa Iloilo . He was instrumental in the rise to power of the government of the Prime Minister , Laisenia Qarase , but his intense criticism of the government ' s policy of showing leniency towards persons implicated in the coup later strained his relations with the regime , and on 5 December 2006 , he overthrew the Qarase government and announced that he had " reluctantly " assumed the powers of the presidency . He restored Ratu Josefa Iloilo to the Presidency on 4 January 2007 , and was formally appointed Interim Prime Minister by Iloilo the next day . The appointment was declared lawful by the Supreme Court of Fiji in October 2008 . Fiji ' s Commodore Frank Bainimarama has stepped down on 10 April 2009 as interim prime minister , after the country ' s court of appeal ruled the removal of the democratic government during his 2006 military coup was unlawful . President Ratu Josefa Iloilo then announced that he had abolished the constitution , assumed all governing power and revoked all judicial appointments . He reappointed Commodore Frank Bainimarama as prime minister . The media has dubbed Fiji a " Bainimarama republic " , a play on banana republic and British girlband Bananarama . Career . Bainimarama ' s naval career spans three decades . He has received a number of honours for his service . He has been made an Officer Brother in the Order of St John of Jerusalem , and has received the Meritorious Service Decoration , the Peacekeeping Medal for United Nations peacekeepers , the General Service Medal , the Fiji Republic Medal , and the 25 Anniversary Medal . Pre - 2000 coup . Following his education at Marist Brothers High School , Bainimarama enlisted with the Fijian Navy on 26 July 1975 and rose smoothly through the ranks , becoming an Able Seaman in August 1976 , a Midshipman in December the same year , and an Ensign on 1 November 1977 . After completing the Midshipmen ' s Supplementary Course in Australia , he was appointed Navigation officer of HMFS " Kiro " in August 1978 . At the end of that year , he was promoted to Sub - Lieutenant . In January 1979 , Bainimarama embarked on the Chilean naval training ship , the Buque Escuela " Esmeralda " , which spent six months circumnavigating South America . On his return to Fiji in August , Bainimarama was appointed Executive Officer of HMFS " Kiro " . After a brief Navigation Course in HMAS " Watson " in March 1982 , Bainimarama underwent Search and Rescue training at the United States Coast Guard Centre in New York . On his return to Fiji , he was appointed commander of HMFS " Kikau " , his first command post . He went on to command HMFS " Kula " , and spent four months in 1984 in the markings of the Exclusive Economic Zones of Tonga , Tuvalu , and Kiribati . After being promoted to Lieutenant Commander in February 1986 , he departed for Sinai where he served for eighteen months with the Multinational Force and Observers . Bainimarama returned to Fiji in September 1987 . He took charge of the delivery of two naval ships , the " Levuka " and " Lautoka " , from Louisiana in the United States . He became Commanding Officer of the Fijian Navy in April 1988 , and was promoted to the rank of Commander on 4 October that year . He held this post for the next nine years . Bainimarama underwent further training at the Malaysia n Armed Forces Staff College in 1991 and at the Australian Defence Force Warfare Centre at RAAF Williamtown , Newcastle , New South Wales , where he studied Maritime Surveillance Training . This was followed by Disaster Management training at the Asian Institute of Technology in 1993 , and Exclusive Economic Zone Management training at Dalhousie University , Canada , in 1994 . He was promoted to the rank of Captain in October of that year , and went on to attend the Australian Joint Services Staff College ( JSSC ) . He attended the Integrated Logistics Support Overview course of the Australian Defence Co - operation Program on 23 September 1996 , and the Chief of Army Conferences in Singapore in 1998 and 1999 , as well as the Chief of Defence Conference in Hawaii . Bainimarama was appointed Acting Chief of Staff on 10 November 1997 , and was confirmed in this post on 18 April 1998 . On 1 March 1999 , he was promoted to the rank of Commodore and was named Commander of the Armed Forces , to replace Brigadier - General Ratu Epeli Ganilau , who resigned to pursue a political career . It was in his capacity as Commander of the Armed Forces that Bainimarama assumed command on 29 May 2000 . The Fiji coup of 2000 . A group led by George Speight , a businessman who had been declared bankrupt following the cancellation of several contracts by the government , entered Parliament buildings on 19 May 2000 and disaffected elements of the Fijian population rallied to his side . For 56 days Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry and most of his cabinet , along with many parliamentarians and their staff , were held as hostages while Speight attempted to negotiate with the President , Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara , who denounced the coup and declared a state of emergency . Believing that President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was not dealing effectively with the situation , Bainimarama apparently forced Mara to resign on 29 May 2000 , in what some politicians have since called " a coup within a coup , " and formed an Interim Military Government which negotiated an accord under which the rebels would release all hostages , including the deposed Prime Minister Mahendra Chaudhry , and would surrender without penalty . The government later reneged on the last part of the agreement and arrested Speight on 27 July 2000 , with Bainimarama saying that he had signed that part of the accord " under duress . " Post - 2000 coup . Bainimarama attended a Leadership and Change Management course with the Public Service Training and Development program in February 2002 , and a Policy Planning Analysis and Management course at the University of the South Pacific in Suva the following month . He went on to attend the Defence and Strategic Studies Annual Conference at the Australian Defence College in Canberra on 2 August , and the Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at Harvard University in the United States from 18 to 30 August . In November that year , he was promoted to Rear Admiral , but this promotion was reverted to Commodore on 1 February 2003 . On 4 September 2003 , Bainimarama attended the Pacific Armies Management Seminar XXVII in Seoul , South Korea , and went on to attend the PKO Capacity Building Seminar in the Philippine capital of Manila . Despite his deteriorating relationship with the government , Bainimarama was reappointed Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces on 5 February 2004 . That month , he attended the Pacific Area Special Operations Conference . This was followed by the Seminar Executive Course at the Asia Pacific Centre for Strategic Studies in Hawaii in April . In May and June , he attended the South East Asia Security Symposium . In September , he attended both the PAMS XXVII in the Indian capital of New Delhi , and the 7th Chief of Defence Conference in Tokyo , Japan . On 14 December 2005 , Bainimarama began an official visit to China , at the invitation of the People ' s Liberation Army . He reaffirmed Fiji ' s support for the People ' s Republic of China ' s One - China policy , and its territorial claims on Taiwan . Political controversies . Bainimarama , who initially kept a high profile after the coup , later became embroiled in constant controversy . He repeatedly entered the political arena to criticise government policy – especially its policy of leniency , as he saw it , towards persons responsible for the coup . Politicians countered with charges of inappropriate interference in political affairs , and some accused him of hypocrisy , saying that he himself had a case to answer for his role in Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara ' s resignation from the presidency . Bainimarama condemned the early release of persons imprisoned for their involvement in the 2000 coup , including former Vice - President Ratu Jope Seniloli and Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu , the Paramount Chief of the Tovata Confederacy . He spoke out against the organising of Fiji Week , a week of religious services and cultural ceremonies , in which persons could apologise for their participation in the coup , that was held from 4 to 11 October 2004 . On 13 May 2005 , he announced his implacable opposition to the government ' s proposal to establish a Reconciliation and Unity Commission , with the power to grant compensation to victims of the 2000 coup , and amnesty to perpetrators of it . He agreed with detractors who called it a sham to grant amnesty to supporters of the government who had played roles in the coup . His attack on the legislation , which continued unremittingly throughout May and June and into July , further strained his already tense relationship with the government . On 11 July , Bainimarama issued one of his strongest - worded challenges yet to the government , saying that it was forcing the country into the same anarchy as in 2000 . In an eight - page statement , he warned that the Military would take decisive action against any " destabilisers " – among whom he named Attorney - General Bale and Ministry of Reconciliation Chief Executive Apisalome Tudreu . " " The military will dish out the same fate we dealt George Speight and his group to anyone whom we think deserves this treatment , " " Bainimarama said . He said that he would arrest and put on trial anyone who threatened the stability of Fiji . The next day , it was revealed that a draft document signed by Bainimarama had originally contained a direct threat to overthrow the government if the bill went through . " " The RFMF must stop the Bill from passing or get rid of the Government if it is passed . We can recover without this government , we cannot recover from this Bill , " " said part of an emboldened paragraph , which was edited out of the document , part of the Military ' s draft submission to the parliamentary committee considering the bill , before publication . The document accused Prime Minister Qarase and Attorney - General Bale of playing the race card deliberately for political reasons . Home Affairs Minister Vosanibola finally admitted on 13 July that the government was constitutionally powerless to do anything to discipline the Military commander . He said that the government was very concerned about Bainimarama ' s behaviour , and accused the media of exacerbating the tensions . " " You ( the media ) can play a major role and come to us first instead of coming to us after highlighting what he ( Bainimarama ) has said , " " Vosanibola told the Fiji Times . On 20 July , however , Bainimarama claimed that Vosanibola had attempted to dismiss him in June . Vosanibola had presented a letter of termination to the government , which they had discussed , he claimed . On 24 August , Bainimarama went public with allegations that Senator Apisai Tora and other politicians , whom he did not name , had asked him to depose President Iloilo in 2000 . Tora angrily denied the accusations , and was supported by Prime Minister Qarase , who claimed to have attended the meeting where the topic of removing President Iloilo was alleged to have come up . No such topic was discussed , Qarase said . Bainimarama reiterated his allegations on 1 September , and police spokeswoman Sylvia Low said that a file had , in fact , been opened as far back as 2001 , when Bainimarama had made a statement to the police naming individuals he said were involved in the plot . That file was still open , Low said . On 5 September , a team of Criminal Investigation Officers interviewed Bainimarama about his allegations . The details of the discussion were not disclosed , except that Bainimarama had filed an official statement . He told the media after the meeting that he was willing to testify in court . Earlier , Kevueli Bulamainaivalu , the police officer heading the investigation , had said on 29 August that until Commodore Bainimarama had filed an official report and signed it , the police could do nothing . Bainimarama ' s detractors accused him of hypocrisy for vehemently opposing what he saw as the government ' s policy of leniency towards perpetrators of the 2000 coup , when there were unanswered questions about his own role in it . On 25 April 2004 , then - Opposition Leader Mick Beddoes called on the army to answer for its failure to protect President Mara while the country was in crisis . He called this " " a fundamental failure " " on the part of the army . On 5 January 2005 , Joji Kotobalavu , a spokesman for Prime Minister Qarase , reminded the public that Bainimarama himself was currently under investigation for his role in the apparently forced resignation of President Mara . On 2 May 2005 , Police Commissioner Andrew Hughes announced that Bainimarama had volunteered to make a statement about his own role in Mara ' s resignation . To lay any charges , Hughes had earlier said , it would have to be proven that Bainimarama actually forced the President to resign . Bougainville security situation . Bainimarama told the Fiji Live news service on 13 December that Noah Musingku , a Papua New Guinea businessman who once ran a failed pyramid scheme and has since been involved with an armed separatist movement on the island of Bougainville , had contacted him several months earlier , offering F $ 35 million for his cooperation with respect to " security work " in Bougainville . Bainimarama recognised the scheme as an obvious " con job " , he said , and did not reply to the letter . Fijian political unrest and coup d ' état , 2006 . On 31 October 2006 , while Bainimarama was in Egypt visiting Fijian forces on peacekeeping duties in the Middle East , President Iloilo moved to terminate the appointment of Bainimarama , appointing instead Lieutenant Colonel Meli Saubulinayau who declined to take the position . Senior Fijian military officers backed Bainimarama , who quickly called on the Government to resign . The governments of Australia , New Zealand , the U . S . and others called for calm , and asked for assurances that the Fijian military not rise against the government . In late November 2006 , Bainimarama handed down a list of demands to Qarase , one of which was the withdrawal of three controversial bills , including the Qoliqoli Bill ( which would have transferred ownership of maritime resources to the Fijian people ) and the Reconciliation , Tolerance , and Unity Bill , which would have offered conditional pardons to persons convicted of involvement in the 2000 coup . Despite further talks in Suva and in Wellington , New Zealand , Bainimarama gave the Prime Minister Qarase an ultimatum of 4 December to accede to his demands or to resign . In a televised address , Qarase agreed to put the three contentious bills on hold , review the appointment of Andrew Hughes as Police Commissioner ( Bainimarama had demanded his dismissal ) , and give the police the option of discontinuing investigations into the Commander ' s alleged acts of sedition . He refused further concessions , saying that he had conceded all that was possible within the law . Military manoeuvres followed , including the seizure of government vehicles and the house arrest of Prime Minister Qarase . On 5 December President Ratu Josefa Iloilo was said to have signed a legal order dissolving Parliament after meeting with Bainimarama . The President later issued a statement categorically denying having signed any such decree , however , and the exiled Commissioner of Police , Andrew Hughes , implicated Iloilo ' s secretary in the fabrication of the decree at the direction of Commander Bainimarama . As of 9 December , there were reported arrests of members of the media and open dissenters , as well as incidents of intimidation and violence committed against political figures . Stuart Huggett , Chairman of the Public Service Commission , was reported to have been assaulted . Bainimarama told a press conference on 15 December that he would agree to attend a forthcoming meeting of the Great Council of Chiefs , the feudal body empowered to choose the country ' s President , Vice - President , and fourteen of the thirty two Senators , only in his capacity as President of the Republic , the Fiji Sun reported . Told that the Great Council still recognised Ratu Josefa Iloilo as President , he said that in that case he would boycott the meeting . He also condemned the Great Council ' s invitation to deposed Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase , saying that Qarase would not be allowed to return to Suva to attend the meeting . On 6 September 2007 , Bainimarama imposed a renewed state of emergency for one month , alleging that Qarase and his spokesman were spreading lies and attempting to cause destabilisation , following Qarase ' s return to Suva after having been confined to the island of Vanuabalavu since his ouster . Bainimarama said that Qarase and his spokesman should return to Vanuabalavu and that they could " talk from there " . Bainimarama became acting Minister of Finance on 18 August 2008 after Chaudhry and the other Labour Party ministers withdrew from the interim government . Explaining the coup . The immediate cause of the military coup was Prime Minister Qarase ' s refusal to withdraw the Qoliqoli Bill . Bainimarama stated that his main reasons for overthrowing the Qarase government were that it was corrupt , and that it was conducting racially discriminatory policies against the country ' s Indo - Fijian minority . In a speech publicly announcing the coup , he stated that Qarase ' s policies had " divided the nation now and will have very serious consequences to our future generations " . He added that " the passing of the Reconciliation , Qoliqoli and Land Claims [ Bills ] will undermine the Constitution , will deprive many citizens of their rights as guaranteed under the Constitution and compromise and undermine the integrity of the Constitutional Offices including the Judiciary " . He explained that he would amend the race - based electoral rolls , so as to " lead us into peace and prosperity and mend the ever widening racial divide that currently besets our multicultural nation " . Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September 2007 , he stated : " [ I ] n 1970 , Fiji started its journey as a young nation on a rather shaky foundation , with a race - based Constitution , one which rigidly compartmentalised our communities . The ' democracy ' which came to be practised in Fiji was marked by divisive , adversarial , inward - looking , race - based politics . The legacy of leadership , at both community and national levels , was a fractured nation . Fiji ' s people were not allowed to share a common national identity . " Of the two major communities , indigenous Fijians were instilled with fear of dominance and dispossession by Indo - Fijians , and they desired protection of their status as the indigenous people . Indo - Fijians , on the other hand , felt alienated and marginalised , as second - class citizens in their own country , the country of their birth , Fiji . [ . . . ] Fiji ' s overall situation by 2006 had deteriorated sharply , heightened by massive corruption and lawlessness [ . . . ] . [ P ] olicies which promote racial supremacy [ . . . ] must be removed once and for all . [ . . . ] Fiji will look at making the necessary legal changes in the area of electoral reform , to ensure true equality at the polls . [ . . . ] [ E ] very person will be given the right to vote for only one candidate , irrespective of race or religion . " This was to be achieved , he declared , through a People ' s Charter for Change , Peace and Progress , the stated aim of which was to " rebuild Fiji into a non - racial , culturally - vibrant and united , well - governed , truly democratic nation that seeks progress , and prosperity through merit - based equality of opportunity , and peace " . In April 2009 , he told " The Australian " ' s Graham Davis : " My vision for Fiji is one that ' s free of racism . That ' s the biggest problem we ' ve had in the last 20 years and it needs to be taken out . It ' s the lies that are being fed to indigenous Fijians that are causing this , especially from our chiefs who are the dominating factor in our lives . And the politicians take advantage of that . We need to change direction in a dramatic way . We need to get rid of Qarase and everything associated with the 2000 coup and begin entirely on a new path . " " Davis noted that Bainimarama had introduced greater ethnic diversity into senior positions , and suggested that " maybe that ' s what drives Bainimarama most of all ; the notion , however quixotic , of a multiracial meritocracy belatedly fulfilling the great promise Fiji had in its early post - independence years , when a visiting pope John Paul II famously described it as a model for the developing world . Before the greed , the racism and the gun . " Essential National Industries Decree . In September 2011 , the Bainimarama government introduced a decree severely curtailing labour rights , so as to " ensure the present and continued viability and sustainability of essential national industries " . In particular , the decree banned strikes in all but exceptional circumstances , subjecting them in addition to government authorisation on a case by case basis . It also curtailed the right for workers to take their grievances to courts of law . The Fiji Trades Union Congress said the decree " offers major weapons to the employers to utilise against unions [ . . . ] It outlaws professional trade unionists , eliminates existing collective agreements , promotes a biased system of non - professional bargaining agents to represent workers , severely restricts industrial action , strengthens sanctions against legally striking workers and bans overtime payments and other allowances for workers in 24 - hour operations " . Attar Singh , General Secretary for the Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions , said : " We have never seen anything worse than this decree . It is without doubt designed to decimate unions [ . . . ] by giving [ employers ] an unfair advantage over workers and unions " . Amnesty International said the decree threatened " fundamental human rights [ . . . ] , including the right to freedom of association and assembly , and the right to organise " . 2009 constitutional crisis . In April 2009 , the Court of Appeal ruled the removal of the democratic government during his 2006 military coup was illegal . Bainimarama stepped down on 10 April 2009 as interim prime minister . President Ratu Josefa Iloilo then announced that he had abolished the constitution , assumed all governing power and revoked all judicial appointments . After abolishing the constitution and sacking the judiciary , President Ratu Josefa Iloilo reappointed Commodore Frank Bainimarama as prime minister only 24 hours later . On 24 April , the President made him Companion of the Order of Fiji in recognition of his " eminent achievement and merit of highest degree and service to Fiji and to humanity at large " . On 3 November 2009 , Bainimarama banished the envoys of Australia and New Zealand giving them 24 hours to leave the country . The controversy stemmed from Bainimarama ' s move to appoint Sri Lankan judges to replace the country ' s judiciary , which he ousted in April 2009 . Monarchism . Bainimarama displays above his office desk portraits of Elizabeth II , Queen of the United Kingdom and former Queen of Fiji , and of her consort Prince Philip , Duke of Edinburgh . He has described himself as a monarchist : " I ' m still loyal to the Queen . Many people are in Fiji . One of the things I ' d like to do is see her restored as our monarch , to be Queen of Fiji again . " However , in 2012 Bainimarama ' s government abolished the Queen ' s Official Birthday holiday in Fiji , and replaced the Queen ' s image on Fiji ' s banknotes and coins with the Fijian coat of arms . Personal life . Bainimarama hails from the village of Kiuva in the Kaba Peninsula , Tailevu Province . He is the brother of Ratu Meli Bainimarama and Ratu Timoci Bainimarama , both senior civil servants . He was Roman Catholic - educated and graduated from Marist Brothers High School in Suva . He is Methodist . He is married to Maria Makitalena , with whom he has six children and several grandchildren . He is a sports enthusiast , with a particular passion for rugby union and athletics . He has also served as president of the Fiji Rugby Union , and takes a keen interest in military history and current affairs .