Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces

Commander of Fiji Military Forces
Commander of Fiji Military Forces
	Coat of arms of Fiji
	Incumbent; Brigadier General Jone Kalouniwai; since September 2021
Member of	Republic of Fiji Military Forces
Reports to	Minister for National Security and Defence
Appointer	President of the Republic
Formation	1971
First holder	D. J. Aitken
Unofficial names	Commander RFMF
Deputy	Deputy Commander
Website	Official website

The Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces is the highest-ranking military officer of in the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, who is responsible for maintaining the operational command of the military. The current commander is Major General Jone Kalouniwai.

List of commanders

British rule

During British rule, the Commanders were:^[1]

No.	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	?	?	?	?
2	Major general William Cunningham (1883–1959)	1940	1942	1–2 years
3	Major general Owen Mead (1892–1942)	March 1942	25 July 1942 †	0 years
4	Brigadier John George Concanon Wales (1886–1967)	July 1942	1943	0–1 years
5	Brigadier George Dittmer (1893–1979)	1943	1945	1–2 years
6	Colonel Clive Lochiel Pleasants (1910–1988)	1949	1953	3–4 years
7	Colonel Thomas Coats Campbell (1911–1984)	1953	1956	2–3 years
8	Colonel J. P. Sanders	1956	1958	1–2 years
9	Colonel R. W. Foubister (1910–?)	1958	1960	1–2 years
10	Colonel Robertson Mackay Paterson (1918–1972)	1960	1962	1–2 years
11	Colonel Frank Rennie (1918–1992)	1966	1969	2–3 years
12	Colonel John Moore Morris (1924–2017)	1969	1971	1–2 years

Independence

No.	Commander	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Commander-in-Chief	Ref.
1	Aitken, D. J.Brigadier D. J. Aitken	1971	1974	2–3 years	Army	Elizabeth II	^[1]
2	Manueli, PaulColonel Paul Manueli (1934–2019)	1974	1979	4–5 years	Army	Elizabeth II	^[1]^[2]
3	Thorpe, IanColonel Ian Thorpe	1979	1982	2–3 years	Army	Elizabeth II	^[1]
4	Nailatikau, EpeliColonel Epeli Nailatikau (born 1941) ^[a]	1982	1987	4–5 years	Army	Elizabeth II	^[1]
5	Rabuka, SitiveniMajor general Sitiveni Rabuka (born 1948) ^[b]	1987	1992	4–5 years	Army	Elizabeth II Himself Ganilau	^[1]
6	Ganilau, EpeliMajor general Epeli Ganilau (born 1951)	1992	1 March 1999	6–7 years	Army	Ganilau Mara	^[1]
7	Bainimarama, FrankCommodore Frank Bainimarama (born 1954) ^[b]	1 March 1999	5 March 2014	15 years, 4 days	Republic of Fiji Navy	Mara Himself (twice) Iloilo Nailatikau	^[1]^[3]^[4]
8	Tikoitoga, MoseseBrigadier Mosese Tikoitoga	5 March 2014	31 July 2015	1 year, 148 days	Army	Nailatikau	^[1]^[5]
8	Naupoto, ViliameRear Admiral Viliame Naupoto	1 August 2015 Acting until December 2015	16 September 2021	6 years, 46 days	Republic of Fiji Navy	Nailatikau Konrote	^[6]
9	Brigadier General Jone Kalouniwai	September 2021	Incumbent	2 years, 9 months	Army	Konrote Katonivere	^[7]

Notes

^ Later served as President.
^ ^a ^b Later served as Prime Minister.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "Commanders". Republic of Fiji Military Forces. 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
^ (23 December 2006). Military, GCC agree to talks Archived 2012-09-05 at the Wayback Machine, Fiji Times, Retrieved November 22, 2010
^ Fiji coup leader Frank Bainimarama quits military post for poll run Archived 6 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine, The Australian, 5 March 2014, accessed 6 March 2014
^ Vuibau, Tevita (6 March 2014). "Military pays tribute to 'David'". Fiji Times Online. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
^ Vuibau, Tevita (6 March 2014). "By the book". Fiji Times Online. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
^ "Commander resigns - Fiji Times Online". www.fijitimes.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
^ "Brigadier General Jone Kalouniwai is the new Commander of Fiji's Miilitary Forces". Pacific Islands News Association. Retrieved 25 September 2021.