Josaia Tavaiqia

Who was Josaia Tavaiqia?

Ratu Sir Josaia Tavaiqia was a Fijian chief who served as one of two Vice-President of Fiji from 1990 until his death in 1997..

Tavaiqia, who held the chiefly title of Tui Vuda, or Paramount Chief of Vuda, one of the subdivisions of Ba Province, died on 17 November 1997 at the age of 66. He was succeeded, both as Tui Vuda and as Vice-President by Ratu Josefa Iloilo.

Tavaiqia was a civil servant before he ventured into politics, serving as a cabinet minister in the Ratu Mara Administration in the 1970s-1980s.

He was better known for his efforts to improve the livelihoods of the people of the Ba Province. During his tenure as Minister for Forests, Tavaiqia negotiated with landowners to lease marginal land with little use for any agricultural development to the Fiji Pine Commission and later Fiji Pine Limited.