Satendra Nandan

Satendra Nandan is an Indo-Fijian academic, writer, and former politician. He is one of Fiji's leading writers.

Early life Nandan was born in Nadi, Fiji. After completing his secondary education he studied at Delhi University, from where he obtained his degree in engineering. He joined the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji in 1969.

Political career Nandan was first elected to the House of Representatives of Fiji as a National Federation Party candidate at the 1982 Fijian general election. He subsequently resigned from the party and became an independent. He contested the 1987 election as a candidate for the Fiji Labour Party, and was re-elected. He was appointed Minister of Health, Social Welfare and Women's Affairs in the government of Timoci Bavadra, but was removed from office by the 1987 Fijian coups d'état.

Later life

After the 1987 coup, he migrated to Australia and took up a position at the Australian National University in Canberra. He worked as a professor of literature and director of the Centre for Writing. He returned to Fiji in 2005, where he helped establish the University of Fiji.

Following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état he was appointed as interim chair of the military regime's Media Industry Development Authority, but withdrew for health reasons. In 2012 he was appointed to the Constitutional Commission which drafted the 2013 Constitution of Fiji.

Publications