Everything about Jona Senilagakali totally explained
Dr Jona Baravilala Senilagakali is a medical doctor and former diplomat who was installed as interim
Prime Minister of Fiji by
Commodore Josaia Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama in the
military coup of
December 5 2006. He resigned as Prime Minister on
5 January 2007, but on
8 January he was appointed interim
Minister for Health. He lost that position during a Cabinet reshuffle on
January 4 2008 .
Education
Senilagakali was educated at
Lau Provincial School and subsequently at
Queen Victoria School on the main island of
Viti Levu, where he studied from
1945 to
1950, when he enrolled in the
Fiji School of Medicine. After graduating in
1954, he was employed in the health service from
1954 to
1963, serving such diverse locations as
Lautoka and
Levuka. In
1964, he took time out to study orthopedic surgery in
Melbourne,
Australia, and at the
Vellore Christian Medical College Hospital in
India.
On his return to Fiji in
1968, he was employed as a consultant surgeon at
Labasa hospital, before becoming a lecturer at his
alma mater in
1970, a position he held for three years. From
1974 to
1978 he served as Director of Medical Services, and from
1978 to
1981 as Permanent Secretary for Health. He was President of the
Fiji Medical Association from
1970 to
1974 and from
2005 to the present. He was also the "public member" of the disciplinary committee of the
Fiji Law Society from
1998 to
2006.
Senilagakali is considered by some to be the best known and respected medical practitioner in the nation, having previously been the president of the Fiji Medical Association, before becoming the medical doctor to the
Republic of Fiji Military Forces. Recently, he was honoured by the
International Biographical Centre, in
Cambridge,
England, which awarded him with the
IBC Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to health services in Fiji. The IBC said the award was only conferred after a thorough evaluation of each candidate's qualification by the members of the IBC research and advisory board.
Diplomatic career and public service
From
1981 to
1983, Senilagakali served as a counsellor for the Fijian Embassy to
Tokyo before becoming
Consul General to
Los Angeles, a position he held until
1985. After a brief stint as a
roving ambassador to
Pacific Islands Forum countries, he became Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office in
1986. His last office in the public service was as Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, to which he was appointed in
1987.
As Prime Minister
After becoming prime minister, Senilagakali acknowledged that the coup was illegal but justified it by claiming that the "illegal activity" of the government of
Laisenia Qarase, who Bainimarama had ousted, was worse. He said that he'd been ordered by Bainimarama to take the position of prime minister and that his appointment had surprised him. He also said new elections could be as long as two years away.
The Great Council of Chiefs doesn't recognise his position, and instead still recognises
Laisenia Qarase.
On his first full day as Prime Minister, Senilagakali received a hostile reception at the graduation ceremony of the
Fiji School of Medicine. The
Fiji Times reported that an unnamed faculty member, who is also a chief, had told him that his agreeing to head a military puppet government was disgraceful and unworthy of the school. He left before the ceremony began.
Bainimarama announced Senilagakali's resignation on
January 4,
2007; President
Josefa Iloilo, whose powers were restored by Bainimarama on the same day, appointed Bainimarama as prime minister the next day. Senilagakali was then sworn in as health minister on
January 8.
Religious beliefs and activities
A
lay preacher in the
Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma, Fiji's largest
Christian denomination, he brushed aside reported opposition from the church to the Military takeover, saying that he was very active in the church both as a lay-preacher and as the translator of the church's
constitution. He told the
Fiji Live news service that he'd translated the church constitution from
English to
Fijian all by himself, between
1987 and
1989. He is also the chief steward of the
Yarawa Methodist Church, and served on the standing committee of the Methodist conference from
1989 to
2002.
Personal life
Senilagakali is married with five children and four grandchildren.
Further Information
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