Kamisese Mara

Twilight years

Following his resignation, Mara retired to his native island of Lakeba. He continued to influence politics in Fiji, where democracy was subsequently restored, through his membership of the Great Council of Chiefs, which not only advises the government but also functions as an electoral college to choose the President of the Republic, as well as 14 of the 32 members of the Senate; at the time of his death, he was the longest-serving member of the Council. He remained Chairman of the Lau Provincial Council, a position he had held concurrently with his national offices for many years.

Related Topics:
Lakeba - Great Council of Chiefs - Electoral college - Senate - Lau

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Mara suffered a stroke late in 2001 while visiting Port Vila, Vanuatu, with two of his longtime friends, businessmen Hari Punja and Joe Ruggiero. He died in Suva on 18 April 2004, from complications arising from the stroke. His state funeral, led by Roman Catholic Archbishop Petero Mataca, which was spread out over three days (28 to 30 April) saw an estimated 200,000 people - almost a quarter of Fiji's total population - line the streets to pay their last respects to the man they regarded as the father of the nation, in an outpouring of public grief not seen since the death of Mara's presidential predecessor, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, over a decade earlier.

Related Topics:
Stroke - Port Vila - Vanuatu - Hari Punja - Joe Ruggiero - Suva - 18 April - 2004 - Roman Catholic - Archbishop - Petero Mataca - 28 - 30 April - Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau

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Even in death, Ratu Mara stirred controversy. His state funeral was by no means universally popular, even among his close supporters. Claiming to speak for many of those who had been close to the late President, Joseph Browne, who had been his official secretary, claimed that it was the "height of hyprocisy" to have the armed forces, still commanded by the same officers who had unceremoniously deposed Mara from the presidency four years earlier, honouring him at his funeral now.

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A one-year period of mourning for the late Chief ended on 13 May 2005, with the close of a series of ceremonies that that started on the 9th. Those who had been observing mourning rituals symbolically changed from black clothes into their normal attire. (Members of the Mara family, however, said that they would continue to wear black for a further three months, until the period of mourning for his wife, Adi Lala, is over). Many thousands of people arrived in Tubou Village on the island of Lakeba to take part in the vakataraisulu ritual, which lifted taboos in place for the Mara family and the people of the Lau Islands. Mara's son, Ratu Finau Mara, who is widely expected to be named his successor as Tui Nayau, or Paramount Chief of the Lau Islands, was expected to participate in the vakataraisulu at the request of elders from Tubou and Levuka, but for undisclosed reasons, remained in Suva. In 2004, he had attended his father's state funeral in Suva but not his private funeral in Lakeba. His younger brother, Roko Tevita Uluilakeba, was believed to be out of the country.

Related Topics:
13 May - 2005 - 9th - Tubou Village - Ratu Finau Mara - Tui Nayau - Levuka - 2004 - Roko Tevita Uluilakeba

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Addressing the Lau Provincial Council in Ratu Mara's honour, Fiji's current Vice-President, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi praised him as a man of vision and compassion, who hated lies and lived by the truth. He praised him as a committed Christian who practiced what he preached, and who did not differentiate between people but treated all men alike whatever their race or religion. Madraiwiwi called on Lauans today to follow Mara's example.

Related Topics:
Lau - Vice-President - Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi

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