Epeli Nailatikau

Education and military career Born to a family of politically powerful chieftains, Nailatikau's career spanned 20 years in the military and 17 years in the diplomatic service. Following his education at Bau District School, Draiba Fijian School, Levuka Public School and Queen Victoria School, Nailatikau trained as a soldier in New Zealand. In 1966, he served on secondment in the 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment and was posted to Sarawak, Malaysia, during Indonesia's "Konfrontasi" against Malaysia. He proved to be a popular and highly respected officer. When he returned to the Fiji Infantry Regiment, he rose steadily through the ranks. By 1987, he held the rank of Brigadier-General, and was the Commander of the Royal Fiji Military Forces. While visiting Australia, he was deposed from this position, however, when the third-ranked officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka staged the first of two coups and seized power.

Diplomatic career Nailatikau retired from the Army and decided to pursue a new career in the diplomatic service. After completing the Foreign Service Course at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, he was appointed High Commissioner to the United Kingdom and accredited as Fiji's ambassador to Denmark, Egypt, Germany, Israel and the Holy See. He was later appointed Fiji's roving ambassador and high commissioner to the member states of the South Pacific Forum, before taking up a post as Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs and External Trade in 1999.

Political career In the aftermath of the failure of the Fiji coup of 2000, a coup which Nailatikau strongly opposed, he was nominated for the position of Prime Minister, to help rebuild Fiji's shattered institutions. He withdrew his nomination, however, in favour of Laisenia Qarase, who was considered more of a consensus candidate, but became Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Fijian Affairs in the interim Cabinet. He was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in August 2000. He was appointed again Deputy Prime Minister of Laisenia Qarase in 2001 and served until September 2001, when he was elected the Speaker. In 2001, after democracy had been restored in a general election, he defeated, by a vote of 41 to 29, Joeli Kalou for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives, a position he held until after the 2006 elections.

Following the coup d'état of 5 December 2006, he was sworn in as Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade in the new interim government of Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama on 8 January 2007.

He was nominated to become the new vice-president by the Fiji president Ratu Josefa Iloilo on 10 April 2007, but was rejected by the GCC. On 17 April 2009, after Fiji experienced a constitutional crisis, Ratu Epeli was appointed vice president.

Nailatikau served as interim Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Co-operation and Civil Aviation under Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, beginning in January 2007. On 23 September 2008, Bainimarama said that Nailatikau would be moved to the post of Minister for Provincial Development and Multi-Ethnic Affairs on 5 October 2008, while Bainimarama would take over his previous duties. According to Bainimarama, he "decided to give him this new responsibility given his extensive knowledge and hands-on experience on the workings of the Civil Service, Governments role in rural development and the sources of assistances available to facilitate such development", while also stating that Nailatikau had "excellent public relations appeal, which is very much needed in outreaching and inter-facing with rural people."

Acting prime minister On 25 September 2007, Epeli was appointed acting prime minister while interim Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, was away in New York City for the week.

Acting president On 30 July 2009, he became acting president after the retirement of 88-year-old President Iloilo. at the World AIDS Conference in Toronto in August 2006.

Personal life and death As a chief by birth through his paternal side via his maternal grandmother, who is the granddaughter of Ratu Seru Cakobau, Epeli Nailatikau has the title of Ratu. He is the second son of Ratu Edward Cakobau, who commanded the Fijian Battalion in World War II. He is also a great-great-grandson of Seru Epenisa Cakobau from his granddaughter Litia Cakobau, the first monarch to rule over a unified Fijian kingdom after conquering all the tribes of Fiji and uniting them under his leadership, and who ceded the Fiji Islands to the United Kingdom in 1874. In addition, he is a grandson of King George Tupou II of Tonga. His father is the product of issue between King George Tupou II and Litia Cakobau who was sent to Tonga as a trial bride to the King but this was later repudiated as they could not marry under the normal Tongan constitution.

In 1981, he married Adi Koila Mara, the second daughter of modern Fiji's former prime minister and president Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. Adi Koila has also been a politician; like her husband, she was a Member of Parliament, Cabinet minister, and Senator. They had two children: a son, Kamisese Vuna (named after Adi Koila's father), and a daughter, Litia Cakobau.

Nailatikau died on 26 March 2026, at the age of 84.

Honours National honours

Foreign honours 60px Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Tonga (31 July 2008).