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Ratu Epeli Ganilau Biography |
Ratu Epeli Ganilau (born 10 October 1951) is a Fijian soldier and statesman, who currently serves as Chairman of the Bose Levu Vakaturanga (Great Council of Chiefs), a formal assembly of the hereditary chiefs of Fiji, which also has a constitutional role in functioning as an electoral college to elect the President of the republic, as well as 14 of the 32 Senators. Ganilau was elected Chairman of the Bose Levu Vakaturanga in 2001, after the previous Chairman, Sitiveni Rabuka stepped down amid accusations that he may have been involved in the coup d'état that deposed Fiji's elected government in May 2000.
Ganilau is the son of the late Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, the first President of the Republic of Fiji (1987-1992). He is married to, and has two sons and two daughters with, Adi Ateca Mara, the eldest daughter of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the founding father of modern Fiji. He became Army Chief of Staff in 1987, retiring in 1998 with the rank of Brigadier General. In 1999 he helped to found the Christian Democratic Party; although not personally elected, he was subsequently appointed to the Senate. He chose not to run in the election held to restore democracy in 2001, but in his role as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs, he still has an influential political role. |
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