Ratu Sir Penaia Kanatabatu Ganilau (28 July 1918-15 December 1993) was the first President of Fiji, serving from 8 December 1987 till his death. He had previously served as Governor General, representing Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, from 12 February, 1983 to 15 October, 1987.
Ratu Ganilau was Governor General at the time of the 1987 coups carried out by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. After the first coup on May 14, 1987, Ganilau defiantly refused to give up the office of Governor General. Attempting to uphold the constitution, Ganilau tried to return Fiji to parliamentary democracy, but a second coup forced him to resign as Governor-General on 15 October 1987, thus severing Fiji’s links to the British Monarchy.
In his letter of resignation, addressed to Queen Elizabeth II, Ganilau wrote:
“With humble duty, I wish to submit to you the following advice, acting in my capacity as your representative in Fiji. Owing to the uncertainty of the political and constitutional situation in Fiji, I have now made up my mind to request Your Majesty to relieve me of my appointment as Governor-General with immediate effect. This I do with utmost regret, but my endeavours to preserve constitutional government in Fiji have proved in vain, and I can see no alternative way forward. With deepest respect, Penaia Ganilau, Governor-General.”
On 8 December 1987, Ratu Ganilau was appointed the first ever President of the new Republic of Fiji. He saw to the appointment of the interim civilian Government that was to lead Fiji for a five-year transitional period of constitutional change. During this time, he presided over the promulgation of the Constitution of 1990. The first general elections since the crisis of 1987 were held in 1992. He 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, though he remained the official President until he died.
A scion of the chiefly Ai Sokula clan, Ganilau was the traditional ruler of Cakaudrove province, with the title of Tui Cakau . He was the fourteenth to hold this position. He was also recognized as paramount chief of the Tovata Confederacy , covering much of northern and eastern Fiji, making him one of the three highest-ranking chiefs in the Fijian peerage .
Ganilau was educated at Northern Provincial School , Queen Victoria Memorial School and Wadham College, Oxford University, whence he graduated in 1946. Returning to Fiji, he joined the Colonial Administration Service the following year, and served as a District Officer from 1948 to 1953. The following three years were spent in the Fiji Military Forces, from which he was discharged in 1956 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He subsequently returned to the civil service and became Deputy Secretary for Fijian Affairs in 1961.
In 1963, in the first elections in which ethnic Fijians voted directly, Ganilau was elected to the Legislative Council , the precursor to the modern Fijian Parliament. When responsible government was instituted in 1965, he was appointed Minister for Fijian Affairs and Local Government, serving until 1970. He subsequently served as Minister for Home Affairs, Lands and Mineral Resources from 1970 to 1972, when he became Minister for Communications, Works and Tourism. In 1973, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, a position he was to hold for the next decade; during this time, he also served as Minister for Home Affairs (1975-1983) and as Minister for Fijian Affairs and Rural Development (1977-1983). In 1983 he became Governor-General.
Ratu Ganilau was awarded many honours throughout his lifetime. These included the D.S.O. (1956), O.B.E. (1960), C.M.G. (1968, C.G.O. (1970), K.B.E. (1974), K.C.V.O. (1982), and G.C.M.G. (1983). He also received an honorary doctorate in education in 1974.
Ganilau was married three times, and had two daughters and six sons, of whom one, Ratu Epeli Ganilau, has followed in his footsteps in pursuing a political career of his own. As a statesman, Ganilau was regarded as a moderate conservative, upholding the traditions of the chiefly system but embracing modern political institutions.
|- style="text-align: center;"
| width="30%" |Preceded by:
none
| width="40%" style="text-align: center;" |President of Fiji
1987 - 1993
| width="30%" |Succeeded by:
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
