Qoriniasi Bale
Attorney General of Fiji | |
|---|---|
| In office 1984–1987 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor General | Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau |
| Prime Minister | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara |
| Preceded by | Manikam Pillai |
| Succeeded by | Jai Ram Reddy |
| In office 2001–2006 | |
| President | Josefa Iloilo |
| Prime Minister | Laisenia Qarase |
| Preceded by | Alipate Qetaki |
| Succeeded by | Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum |
| 9th Solicitor-General of Fiji | |
| In office 1979–1984 | |
| Governor General | Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau |
| Prime Minister | Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara |
| Preceded by | Harold Picton-Smith |
| Succeeded by | John Richard Flower |
| Senator of Fiji 1st time | |
| In office 1984–1987 | |
| Appointed by | Prime Minister of Fiji |
| Senator of Fiji 2nd time | |
| In office 2001–2006 | |
| Appointed by | Prime Minister of Fiji |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1941[1] Levukana, Vanua Balavu, Fiji |
| Died | 21 March 2014 (aged 84–85) Sigatoka, Fiji |
| Political party | Alliance Party Fiji Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua |
Qoriniasi Babitu Bale (1941 — 21 March 2014)
Education and early career
Bale was educated at Queen Victoria School and Suva Boys Grammar School then University of Otago and Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, where he graduated with a LLB degree in 1969. Upon returning to Fiji, he was appointed a Crown Counsel in the Crown Law Office, and subsequently became a Crown Prosecutor in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in 1970. In 1975, he became Principal Legal Officer in the Crown Law Office, before being promoted to Solicitor General in 1979, a post he held until 1984. Bale is the first indigenous Fijian Solicitor General; his predecessors had all been from the United Kingdom.
Political career
Bale had his first foray into
Following the Fiji coups of 1987, Bale went into private practice as a barrister and a solicitor. He served as Legal Adviser to the Great Council of Chiefs and the Fijian Affairs Board for 18 years, and as Chairman of the Electoral Commission and the Constituency Boundaries Commission from 1990 to 1996. Balewas also Chairman of Ratu Sukuna Memorial School from 1988 to 1996, and Chairman of the Council of the Fiji School of Medicine for 10 years.
Following the restoration of democracy to the island nation after the Fiji coup of 2000, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase appointed Bale to the Senate in September 2001. One of the 9 out of 32 Senators chosen by the Prime Minister, he found himself holding the portfolios of Attorney-General and Minister for Justice once more.
Policies
A member of the Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua Party (SDL), he was known to have Fijian nationalist sympathies and called for substantial amendments to be made to the Constitution adopted in 1997. This Constitution, which was abrogated in the course of the 2000 coup, was subsequently reinstated in March 2001, following two court rulings.
In May and June 2005, Bale promoted the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which proposes the establishment of a Commission with the power, subject to presidential approval, to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of crimes related to the 2000 coup.
In July 2006, Bale claimed that the Fiji Labour Party had no right to call itself the opposition and appoint shadow ministers. Bale said "as far as the Opposition goes there are only two formal Opposition members while the rest of the FLP members are government back-benchers."[3]
References
- ^ "March 21st Famous Deaths for 2014". One Day History. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
- ^ a b "Former Attorney- General Qoriniasi Bale dies". Fijisun.com.fj. 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
- ^ "Gateway to Fiji". Fijilive. 2006-07-13. Retrieved 2014-03-24.
External links
- "Hon. Senator Qoriniasi Babitu Bale". Office of the Attorney General. Archived from the original on February 14, 2006.