1. Penaia Ganilau had previously served as Governor-General of Fiji, representing Elizabeth II, Queen of Fiji, from 12 February 1983 to 15 October 1987.
17 Facts About Penaia Ganilau
1. 2.
Penaia Ganilau subsequently graduated from the Devonshire Course for administration officers at Wadham College, Oxford University in 1946.
3.
Penaia Ganilau fought in the Malayan Emergency, earning a Distinguished Service Order.
4.
Penaia Ganilau retired in 1956 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
5.
Penaia Ganilau then became the Roko Tui Cakaudrove, his first administrative position.
6.
Penaia Ganilau became a nominated member of the Legislative Council in 1959 and subsequently returned to the civil service and became Deputy Secretary for Fijian Affairs in 1961.
7.
In 1963, in the first elections in which ethnic Fijians voted directly, Penaia Ganilau was elected to the Legislative Council.
8.
Penaia Ganilau did not stand in the 1966 elections, but when responsible government was instituted in 1967, he was appointed Minister for Fijian Affairs and Local Government, serving until 1970.
9.
Penaia Ganilau subsequently served as Minister for Home Affairs, Lands and Mineral Resources from 1970 to 1972, when he became Minister for Communications, Works and Tourism.
10.
Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau was to be Fiji's last Governor-General.
11.
On 8 December 1987, Ratu Penaia Ganilau was appointed the first president of the new Republic of Fiji.
12.
Penaia Ganilau saw to the appointment of the interim civilian government that was to lead Fiji for a five-year transitional period of constitutional change.
13.
Penaia Ganilau remained President and head of state until his death in 1993, though ill-health had forced him to hand over most of his day-to-day functions to the vice-president, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, in 1992.
14.
Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau was awarded many honours throughout his lifetime.
15.
Penaia Ganilau received an honorary doctorate in education in 1974.
16.
Penaia Ganilau was married three times and had two daughters and six sons, of whom one, Ratu Epeli Penaia Ganilau, followed in his footsteps by pursuing a political career of his own.
17.
Penaia Ganilau died at the age of 75 on 15 December 1993 in Washington, DC, where he was receiving medical treatment.