title: Interim Cabinet of Fiji
text: # Interim Cabinet of Fiji
  
  The interim cabinet of Fiji was appointed in January 2007, following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état.
  
  The coup deposed the Qarase government on 5 December 2006. The coup leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama reached an agreement with deposed President Ratu Josefa Iloilo whereby Iloilo would be reinstated as president and Bainimarama sworn in as interim Prime Minister. Bainimarama was duly sworn in on 5 January 2007. Eight cabinet ministers were appointed on 8 January and another six on 9 January; a fifteenth, Ratu Epeli Ganilau, was sworn in as Minister for Fijian Affairs on 15 January.
  
  ## Initial cabinet
  
  | Portfolio | Minister | Profile |
  | - | - | - |
  | Prime Minister, Minister for Information, Minister for Home Affairs | Commodore Josaia Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama | Commander, Republic of Fiji Military Forces. |
  | Minister for Finance, Minister for Sugar Reform, Minister for National Planning | Mahendra Chaudhry | Fiji Labour Party (FLP) leader; Prime Minister 1999-2000 (deposed). |
  | Minister for Youth and Sports | Lekh Ram Vayeshnoi | FLP politician since 1992; former Cabinet Minister. |
  | Minister for Local Government, Minister for Urban Development | Ratu Jone Navakamocea | State Minister for National Planning in the deposed SDL-led government. |
  | Minister for Labour, Minister for Tourism | Bernadette Rounds Ganilau | Served as one of two United Peoples Party parliamentarians in 2006. Former Tourism Minister (2000-2001). |
  | Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources | Tevita Vuibau | Marine geologist with a background as Principal Scientific Officer with the Mineral Resources Department. |
  | Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forests | Jainend Kumar | Retired Director of Research with the Agriculture, Sugar, and Land Resettlement Ministry. |
  | Attorney-General, Minister for Justice | Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum | Former President of Fiji Young Lawyers Association. |
  | Minister for Foreign Affairs Minister for External Trade | Ratu Epeli Nailatikau | Former Military Commander, diplomat, Cabinet Minister, and Parliamentary Speaker (2001-2006). Son of high chief and prominent politician, Ratu Sir Edward Cakobau; son-in-law of first Prime Minister and former President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. |
  | Minister for Public Service, Minister for Public Service Reform | Poseci Bune | Veteran civil servant and diplomat; FLP Environment Minister in the deposed government. Estranged from party leader Mahendra Chaudhry. |
  | Minister for Health | Jona Senilagakali | Military doctor and former diplomat; interim Prime Minister for one month after coup of 5 December 2006. |
  | Minister for Education | Lieutenant Commander Netani Sukanaivalu | Reserve naval officer, former Fiji Institute of Technology lecturer, and businessman. National Alliance Party (NAPF) candidate in 2006 election. |
  | Minister for Transport | Manu Korovulavula | Longtime civil servant and former Senator; NAPF treasurer and candidate in 2006 election. |
  | Minister for Commerce | Taito Waradi | Businessman and President, Fiji Chamber of Commerce. |
  | Minister for Women, Minister for Social Welfare | Adi Laufitu Malani | Scion of the chiefly Gonesau clan of Nakorotubu, Ra Province; former regional director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women. |
  | Minister for Fijian Affairs | Ratu Epeli Ganilau | Scion of the chiefly Ai Sokula clan; son of first President Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau and son-in-law of first Prime Minister and second President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. |
  | FLP: Fiji Labour Party NAPF: National Alliance Party of Fiji SDL: Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua UPP: United Peoples Party |||
  