Constitutional Change Archives - Commonwealth Oral History Project

Interview with Abdul Minty

by nicholaszuniga | May 4, 2017 | Apartheid, Civil Society, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Environment, European Economic Community, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights, NATO, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Nuclear, Race, South Africa, Trade and Investment, United Kingdom, United Nations

Download the transcript (12 Feb 2013) Biography – Abdul Minty. Born South Africa, 1939. Graduate University College London. Appointed the Honorary Secretary of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) 1962-1995. He played an important role in lobbying the...

Interview with Billie Miller

by nicholaszuniga | May 4, 2017 | Barbados, CARICOM, Civil Society, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Education, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Gender, Human Rights, Jamaica, Judiciary, Law, Reflections, Small States, Trade and Investment, Trade Unions, Trinidad and Tobago

Download the transcript (12 Jan 2015) Biography – Dame Billie Miller was educated at Queen’s College in Barbados, King’s College, Durham University and the Council of Legal Education in England. She was the coordinator of CARICOM ministerial spokespersons with...

Interview with Kamalesh Sharma

by evanamusoke | Apr 28, 2017 | CHOGM, Civil Society, Climate Change, Commonwealth Foundation, Commonwealth Institute, Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Education, Elections, Eminent Persons Group, Environment, Good Governance, Human Rights, India, Maldives, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Queen, Small States, Sri Lanka, Technical Assistance, Trade and Investment, United Nations

Download Interview Transcripts: Part One (9 March 2016) and Part Two (29 March 2016) Biography: Sharma, Kamalesh. 1941-. Born in India. Educated at St Stephen’s College, Delhi and University of Cambridge. Indian Foreign Service, 1965-2001. India’s Permanent...

Witness Seminar – The Commonwealth Secretariat, Economics and Development, and Global Politics

by evanamusoke | Jan 6, 2017 | Australia, CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Foundation, Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Education, Elections, Fiji, Human Rights, India, Media, Mozambique, New Zealand, Queen, Small States, South Africa, United Kingdom, United Nations, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

The Witness Seminar was held on 24th March 2014 at the Australian National University in Canberra. Download Witness Seminar. Programme Session 1: The Commonwealth Secretariat Session 2: The Commonwealth, Economics and Development Session 3: The Commonwealth in Global...

Interview with Professor Yash Ghai

by evanamusoke | Aug 10, 2016 | Australia, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Diplomacy, Elections, Fiji, Good Governance, Human Rights, Judiciary, Kenya, Law, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Small States, Tanzania, Uganda, Uncategorized

Download Interview Transcript: Part One (14 July 2015); Part Two (15 July 2015). Biography: Ghai, Yash. 1938. Born in Kenya and graduate of the University of Oxford and Harvard University. Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Yale Law School, 1971-73. Professor of Public Law...

Interview with Sitiveni Rabuka

by chrismoffat | Jul 22, 2015 | Australia, CHOGM, Constitutional Change, Democracy, Elections, Fiji, Good Governance, India, New Zealand, Small States, United Kingdom

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Rabuka, Sitiveni Ligamamada. 1948- . Born in Cakaudrove, Fiji. Educated in New Zealand army school (1973), Indian Defence Services Staff College (1979), and Australian Joint Services Staff College (1982). Senior Operations...

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Definitioner

Len Usher

Sir Leonard ‘Len’ Usher (1907-2003) was a British-born Fijian expatriate who served as Mayor of Suva from 1966 to 1969 and 1975 to 1977. During his long and varied career in Fiji, Usher headed a public relations office, was a founding member of the Fijian Broadcasting Corporation, acted as Deputy Chairman of the National Bank of Fiji and served as Organising Director of the Fiji Islands News Association. He was also Publisher and Editor of the Fiji Times.

Ade Adefuye

Adebowale Ibidapo ‘Ade’ Adefuye (b.1947) is a Nigerian historian and diplomat who was appointed his country’s Ambassador to the United States in 2010. Adefuye was previously Professor of History at the University of Lagos and subsequently acted as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Jamaica (1987-91) and Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1991-94). He was Deputy Director of Strategic Planning for the Commonwealth Secretariat from 1994 to 2008.

John Falvey

Sir John Neil Falvey was a New Zealand-born lawyer who served as Attorney General of Fiji from 1970 to 1977. He was previously legal adviser to the Fijian Affairs Board.

Professor Bloustein (Edward Bloustein)

Edward J Bloustein (1925-1989) was an American legal scholar and University administrator who served as President of Rutgers University from 1971 to 1989. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of the Cornell Law Review, a lecturer in the New York University School of Law (1961-65), and President of Bennington College (1965-71).

Adi Koila Nailatikau

Adi Koila Nailatikau (b.1953) is a Fijian political figure, diplomat and lawyer. She was elected to the Fijian House of Representatives in 1999 and became Minister of Tourism, serving until the George Speight-led coup in 2000. Adi Koila is the daughter of former Fijian Prime Minister Ratu Mara and the wife of President of Fiji Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.

Sandinistas

Sandinistas is the name given to members of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (SNLF), a democratic socialist political party in Nicaragua. The party’s name is a tribute to the 1930s Nicaraguan resistance leader Augusto César Sandino. In 1979, the SNLF overthrew the Nicaraguan government and established a revolutionary junta, ruling the country until 1990.

Khashoggi (Adnan Khashoggi)

Adnan Khashoggi (b.1935) is a Saudi Arabian businessman and international arms dealer who, in the 1980s, was considered one of the richest men in the world. Khashoggi famously brokered deals between American arms firms and the Saudi government. He was also implicated in the Iran-Contra affair.

TP Sreenivasan

TP Sreenivasan is an Indian diplomat who has served as his country’s High Commissioner to Kenya (1995-97) as well as Ambassador to Fiji (1986-89) and Austria and Slovenia (2001-04). Sreenivasan was Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in New York (1992-95) and Deputy Chief of Mission in the Embassy of India, Washington (1997-2000).

Ratu Epeli Nailatikau

Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Nailatikau (b.1941) is a Fijian political figure and military leader who became President of Fiji in 2009. Nailatikau was Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006, and served in 2007 as Minister for Foreign Affairs and in 2008 as Indigenous Affairs Minister. Nailatikau was Commander of the Royal Fiji Military Forces at the time of Sitiveni Rabuka’s 1987 coup. Following the coup, he started a diplomatic career and was High Commissioner to the UK and Fiji’s Ambassador to Denmark, Egypt, Germany, Israel and the Holy See.

SPARTECA (South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement)

The South Pacific Regional Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement (SPARTECA) is an agreement between the Pacific Islands Forum and Australia and New Zealand, in which the latter two countries allow developing island states preferential access to their markets. The textiles, clothing and footwear industries of Pacific Islands Forum members has benefited particularly from SPARTECA.

Adi Litia Cakobau

Adi Litia Qalirea Cakobau is a Fijian political figure who served in her country’s Senate from 2001 to 2006, and previously in Cabinet as Minister for Women (1987). Cakobau is the daughter of Ratu Sir George Cakobau, Fiji’s Governor General from 1973 to 1983.

Colombo Plan

The Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic and Social Development in Asia and the Pacific is a regional organisation that was established in 1950 out of a Commonwealth Conference of Foreign Ministers in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It includes around 27 member countries and activities are coordinated by a Consultative Committee, a Council and a Secretariat. The Colombo Plan focuses primarily on human resources development and technical assistance.

Melanesian Spearhead Group

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is an intergovernmental organisation established in 1983 to coordinate trade and economic development between Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia (FLNKS). In 2007, the group was formalised under international law. It is headquartered in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

Ratu Seru Cakobau

Ratu Seru Cakobau (1815-1883) was King of Fiji, 1871-1874, uniting the kingdom after nearly two decades of war with rival chiefs. In 1874, threatened by American annexation, Cakobau ceded the Fijian islands to the United Kingdom and transferred the title of Paramount Chief to Queen Victoria.

Commonwealth Games

The Commonwealth Games is an international sporting event that takes place every four years and brings together athletes from across the Commonwealth of Nations. It began in 1930 as the British Empire Games, and is overseen today by the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Marlborough House

Marlborough House is a 17^th century mansion in the City of Westminster, central London, which has served as the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat since 1953.

Laisenia Qarase

Laisenia Qarase, b. 1941, served as Prime Minister of Fiji between 2001 and 2006. A polarising figure in Fijian political life, he was removed from power in the 2006 coup d’état.

Qarase (Laisenia Qarase)

Laisenia Qarase, b. 1941, served as Prime Minister of Fiji between 2001 and 2006. A polarising figure in Fijian political life, he was removed from power in the 2006 coup d’état.

Ratu Mara

Sir Kamisese Mara (1920-2004). Fijian politician. He was Prime Minister of Fiji, 1970-92. Though defeated in the election of 1987, he headed an interim administration following a military coup, until 1992. He was then President of Fiji, 1993-2000.

Pacific Island Forum (Pacific Islands Forum)

The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization. Founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum, it aims to enhance cooperation between the countries of the Pacific Ocean.

Lautoka

Lautoka is the second largest city in Fiji after Suva, and is situated at the heart of the country's sugar cane growing region.

George Speight

George Speight (b. 1957). Businessman. He was a key instigator of the 2000 Fijian coup.

Timoci Bavadra

Timoci Bavadra (1934-89). Fijian politician and founder of the Fijian Labour Party. He was Prime Minister, April 1987-May 1987, before being ousted by a coup led by Sitiveni Rabuka.

Alliance Party

The Alliance Party was a Fijian political party that ruled from 1966 to 1987 when it was beaten by a coalition led by Timoci Badavra.

South Pacific Forum

The South Pacific Forum was an international organisation formed in 1971 to facilitate cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. In 1999, it was renamed the Pacific Islands Forum.

Sitiveni Rabuka

Sitiveni Rabuka (b. 1948). Fijian soldier, led to military coups in 1987, and later elected Prime Minister (1992-1999).

Rabuka (Sitiveni Rabuka)

Sitiveni Rabuka (b. 1948). Fijian soldier, led to military coups in 1987, and later elected Prime Minister (1992-1999).

Ratu Penaia

Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau (1918-1993). Fijian politician, Governor-General of Fiji (1983-1987) and President of Fiji (1987-1993).

Ratu Sir Penaia (Ratu Penaia)

Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau (1918-1993). Fijian politician, Governor-General of Fiji (1983-1987) and President of Fiji (1987-1993).

Dr Mahathir (Mahathir bin Mohamad)

Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad (b. 1925). Malaysian politician and Prime Minister (1981-2003).

Paul Keating

Paul Keating (b. 1944). Prime Minister of Australia (1991-1996).

Harare Declaration

The Harare Commonwealth Declaration of 1991 set out the Commonwealth's principles and values, including membership criteria. Click here to read the Declaration in full.

Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth Secretariat is the principal inter-governmental body of the Commonwealth, responsible for promoting cooperation between members. Founded in 1965.

CHOGM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Every two years Commonwealth heads of government meet to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, with the aim of promoting common initiatives.

Bainimarama (Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama)

Josaia Voreqe 'Frank' Bainimarama (b. 1954). Fijian naval officer and politician, Prime Minister of Fiji since 2007.

Emeka Anyaoku

Emeka Anyaoku (b. 1933). Nigerian diplomat. Served as Head of the Commonwealth International Affairs Division (1973-1977), Assistant Secretary General (1977-1979); Deputy Secretary General (1979-1991); Secretary General (1991-2001).

Interview with Abdul Minty

Interview with Billie Miller

Interview with Kamalesh Sharma

Witness Seminar – The Commonwealth Secretariat, Economics and Development, and Global Politics

Interview with Professor Yash Ghai

Interview with Sitiveni Rabuka

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