A Life Of Achievement

When Ratu Sir Kamisese K.T. Mara's first Secretary to Cabinet, Sir Robert Sanders delivered a eulogy at a mass for the high chief in Suva in May, he called Mara "paramount chief, father, counselor, inspirer, instructor, friend and comforter." It was a description that encompassed many of the public and private roles of a Fijian statesman.

Ratu Mara’s body was guarded during his wake. Photo: Bruce Southwick/Zoom Photography

As Mara's cortege entered Albert Park to the haunting tune of Ciri Koto, a song Mara composed in response to grieving for Fijian peacekeepers killed in Lebanon, the only other sounds were conch shells and quiet sobbing. More than 3,000 people had gathered in the park. Another 10,000 had lined the streets of Suva to witness the passing of the cortege. Translating Ciri Koto at the mass, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase said one could hear the longing and the love Mara had for his country, "Fiji was the land he loved with every fiber of his being; it was his land of life and so it is for us."

Women in mourning attire surrounded Ratu Mara’s body. Those nearby fanned his casket. Photo: Bruce Southwick/Zoom Photography

Born May 6, 1920 on Vanua Balavu Island in the Lau Group, Ratu Sir Kamisese Kapaiwai Tuimacilai Mara grew up on his island until he left in 1926 for Sacred Heart Convent in Levuka to begin his schooling. Mara attended a succession of schools, including Marist High School where he converted to Catholicism and the seed of a united nation was planted. Mara was the only Fijian in a class of 33.

His political career began when he was admitted into the then British colony's Legislative Council in 1953. He became Fiji's first prime minister after receiving the instruments of independence on October 10, 1970.

The administration Mara inherited at independence was ethnically based and divided. At the Constitutional Conference in London in 1970 Mara said he wanted a Fiji where people of different races, opinions and culture could live and work together for the good of all. Subsequent coups have ensured however that this was not meant to be.

In all, Mara served as prime minister for 22 years, some of this as interim prime minister after the coups of 1987. Mara succeeded Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, as president after the latter's death in December 1993.

Mara's reign was marked with colossal achievements. A steady GDP growth rate that reached the highest ever of 6 percent before the 1987 crisis; continuous record breaking results in both the sugar and tourism industry; successful negotiation of a clothing and textile deal with Australia and Fiji (SPARTECA) that will end December this year; the sugar protocol and LOME Convention between African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the EU; a special sugar arrangement for Fiji with Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and China; and a special quota arrangement for Fiji sugar in the U.S. market. Mara also pioneered and established Fiji's pine industry.

Mara’s casket going through the gates of Government House, where the wake was held. Photo: Bruce Southwick/Zoom Photography

His triumph was the Law of the Sea Convention of 1982, which entrenched the 200 miles exclusive economic zones and brought more marine resources under Fiji's jurisdiction. Mara was instrumental in the establishment of the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Corporation (now the Pacific Islands Forum), the Pacific Islands Producers Association, the Pacific Islands Leaders Forum and the Pacific Islands Development Program.

The EU affectionately referred to him as "the grand old statesman of Fiji" and most knew him as "the father of regionalism." In his memoirs, Mara said, "I have found regionalism one of the most rewarding experiences of my political life in the Pacific. To me it is an extension of the multiracial policies I have promoted in Fiji itself and at the same time, I found it presented outstanding opportunities for enlarging my own knowledge and experience."

But what of the private man? Mara was literally a giant at 6'5'' and friends say he still did his bit for his domestic life, had a wicked sense of humor and was as at home when speaking of farming or sailing with ordinary people as he was as the dignified and skilled negotiator brokering international and regional agreements.

Sir Robert Sanders says, "there was a basic honesty, goodness and decency which came through what sometimes seemed like aloofness but was really a humble natural reserve."

"It may be the end of an era but I am sure Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara would be sad if it was the end of an ideal; with all these, the tragic irony it seems that his death has actually advanced this idea as I see the united response from all sections of the people."

In the closing pages of his memoirs, Mara had one message for his successors in political leadership. "There is only one way for this nation to go. We must find a common path towards unity, a unity that transcends race and religion and recognizes that we are all sons and daughters of Fiji."