Attorney-General of Fiji
# Attorney-General of Fiji

The Attorney-General is a political and legal officer in Fiji. The attorney-general is the chief law officer of the State, and has responsibility for supervising Fijian law and advising the government on legal matters. Like other members of the Fijian Cabinet, the attorney-general is appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.

According to the 2013 Constitution of Fiji, the attorney-general is required to be a registered legal practitioner in Fiji, with not less than fifteen years' post-admission legal practice, either in Fiji or internationally. The attorney-general is a member of the Cabinet of Fiji, and is normally expected to be a Member of Parliament. The Prime Minister may, however, choose an attorney-general from outside Parliament after determining there is no suitably qualified Member of Parliament who supports the Government. An Attorney-General who is not a Member of Parliament may sit in Parliament, but may not vote.

The office of the attorney-general is the oldest surviving executive office in Fiji, having been established in the Kingdom of Fiji in 1872. It continued throughout Fiji's years as a British crown colony (1874–1970) and subsequently as the Dominion of Fiji (1970–1987) and republic (1987–present), with minimal modifications.

The attorney-general was the only Cabinet office, apart from that of the prime minister, specifically established by the 1997 Constitution, which required the attorney-general to be a member of either the House of Representatives or the Senate. A unique feature of the office was that except for voting rights (which could be exercised only in the chamber of which the attorney-general was officially a member), the attorney-general had the authority to participate in the business of both chambers of Parliament. This feature became redundant upon the adoption of the 2013 Constitution, which established a unicameral parliament.

## Role of the Attorney-General's Office

The role of the attorney-general is defined as "providing essential legal expertise and support to the Government". More specific functions include "legislative drafting", "legal aid", "the prerogative of mercy" (advising the President), "liquor licensing" and "film censorship". Thus, the attorney-general is responsible for all legal needs of government departments, statutory bodies, and state-owned enterprises.

The office has three offices in Suva, Lautoka, and Labasa respectively. Government legal work in the country's Central and Eastern Divisions is undertaken by the central office in Suva, headed by the Solicitor-General, while the Lautoka office (headed by the Principal Legal Officer) is responsible for the Western Division. The Northern Division is covered by the Labasa office.

## List of attorneys-general of Fiji

Note that some attorneys-general have held office in multiple consecutive administrations, particularly in the colonial era.

### Kingdom of Viti (1871–1874)

| No. | Name | Term of office | Appointed by (King): |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Robert Wilson Hamilton | 1872 | Seru Epenisa Cakobau |
| 2 | Charles Rossiter Forwood | 1872–1873 | Seru Epenisa Cakobau |
| 3 | Sydney Charles Burt | 1873–1874 | Seru Epenisa Cakobau |

### Crown colony (1874–1970)

| No. | Name | Term of office | Appointed by (Governor): |
| - | - | - | - |
| 4 | James Herman De Ricci | 1875–1876 | Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon |
| 5 | Joseph Hector Garrick | 1876–1882 | Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon |
| 6 | Fielding Clarke | 1882–1886 | Sir William Des Vœux |
| 7 | Henry Spencer Berkeley | 1886–1889 | Sir William Des Vœux |
| 8 | John Symonds Udal | 1889–1899 | Sir John Bates Thurston |
| 9 | Henry Edward Pollock | 1901–1903 | William Lamond Allardyce |
| 10 | Albert Ehrhardt | 1903–1914 | Sir Henry Moore Jackson |
| 11 | Alfred Karney Young | 1914–1922 | Sir Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott |
| 12 | Sir Kenneth MacKenzie | 1922–1927 | Sir Cecil Hunter Rodwell |
| 13 | Percy Alexander McElwaine | 1927–1931 | Sir Eyre Hutson |
| 14 | Charles Gough Howell | 1931–1933 | Sir Arthur George Murchison Fletcher |
| 15 | Ransley Samuel Thacker | 1933–1938 | Sir Arthur George Murchison Fletcher |
| 16 | Edward Enoch Jenkins | 1938–1945 | Sir Arthur Frederick Richards |
| 17 | John Henry Vaughan | 1945–1949 | Sir Alexander Grantham |
| 18 | Brian Andre Doyle | 1949–1956 | Sir Brian Freeston |
| 19 | Ashley Martin Greenwood | 1956–1963 | Sir Ronald Herbert Garvey |
| 20 | Henry Roger Justin Lewis | 1963–1970 | Sir Kenneth Phipson Maddocks |

### Dominion (1970–1987)

| No. | Name | Term of office | Served under: [1] | Served under: [1] |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Name | Term of office | Governor-General | Prime Minister |
| 21 | John Neil Falvey | 1970–1977 | Ratu Sir George Cakobau | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara |
| 22 | Sir Vijay R. Singh | 1977–1979 | Ratu Sir George Cakobau | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara |
| 23 | Andrew Indar Narayan Deoki | 1979–1981 | Ratu Sir George Cakobau | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara |
| 24 | Manikam Pillai | 1981–1984 | Ratu Sir George Cakobau | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara |
| 24 | Manikam Pillai | 1981–1984 | Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara |
| 25 | Qoriniasi Babitu Bale | 1984–1987 | Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara |
| 26 | Jai Ram Reddy | 1987 | Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau | Timoci Bavadra |
| 27 | Alipate Qetaki | 1987 | Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau | vacant |
| [1] The Attorney-General in this period was formally appointed by the Governor-General, but on the advice of the Prime Minister. |||||

### Republic (1987–present)

| No. | Name | Term of office | Served under: [1] | Served under: [1] |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| No. | Name | Term of office | President | Prime Minister |
| 28 | Sailosi Kepa | 1987–1992 | Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara |
| 29 | Apaitia Seru | 1992 | Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau | Major general (Rtd) Sitiveni Rabuka |
| 30 | Kelemedi Bulewa | 1992–1996 | Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau | Major general (Rtd) Sitiveni Rabuka |
| 30 | Kelemedi Bulewa | 1992–1996 | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara | Major general (Rtd) Sitiveni Rabuka |
| 31 | Etuate Tavai | 1996–1999 | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara | Major general (Rtd) Sitiveni Rabuka |
| 32 | Anand K. Singh | 1999–2000 | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara | Mahendra Chaudhry |
| 32 | Anand K. Singh | 1999–2000 | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara | Ratu Tevita Momoedonu |
| (27) | Alipate Qetaki | 2000–2001 | Ratu Josefa Iloilo | Laisenia Qarase |
| (27) | Alipate Qetaki | 2000–2001 | Ratu Josefa Iloilo | Ratu Tevita Momoedonu |
| (27) | Alipate Qetaki | 2000–2001 | Ratu Josefa Iloilo | Laisenia Qarase |
| (25) | Qoriniasi Babitu Bale | 2001–2006 | Ratu Josefa Iloilo | Laisenia Qarase |
| 33 | Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum | 2007–2014 | Ratu Josefa Iloilo | Rear admiral (Rtd) Frank Bainimarama |
| 33 | Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum | 2007–2014 | Ratu Epeli Nailatikau | Rear admiral (Rtd) Frank Bainimarama |
| 34 | Faiyaz Koya | 2014 | Ratu Epeli Nailatikau | Rear admiral (Rtd) Frank Bainimarama |
| (33) | Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum | 2014–2022 | Ratu Epeli Nailatikau | Rear admiral (Rtd) Frank Bainimarama |
| (33) | Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum | 2014–2022 | Jioji Konrote | Rear admiral (Rtd) Frank Bainimarama |
| (33) | Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum | 2014–2022 | Wiliame Katonivere | Rear admiral (Rtd) Frank Bainimarama |
| 35 | Siromi Turaga | 2022–present | Wiliame Katonivere | Major general (Rtd) Sitiveni Rabuka |
| [1] The Attorney-General in this period is formally appointed by the President, but on the advice of the Prime Minister. |||||
