Ratu Meli Loki MBE (died 11 February 1987) was a Fijian chief, businessman and politician. A pioneer in the indigenous Fijian tourism industry, he served as a member of the Senate between 1979 and 1982.
Meli Loki | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Senate | |
| In office 1979–1982 | |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 11 February 1987 Suva, Fiji |
Biography
editLoki became the chief of Tamavua, was conferred with the Roko Tui Colo title and became a member of the Great Council of Chiefs.[1] He joined the civil service as a proofreader at the government printer in 1949. The following year he became an assistant health inspector for Suva City Council.[1] He subsequently joined the Fijian Broadcasting Corporation, becoming its first Fijian announcer and a senior programmer,[1][2] In the early 1960s he entered the tourism business, creating the Marau model village in Tamavua,[3] where he built the largest bure in Fiji.[2] In the early 1970s he bought a duty-free shop in the centre of Suva.[4] He converted to the Baháʼí Faith for a period.[5]
Entering local government, he became a member of the Suva Rual Local Authority and chairman of Naitasiri Provincial Council.[1] He also served on the Native Land Trust Board and as a director of the Native Land Development Corporation.[1] He contested the 1972 general elections, but failed to win a seat in the House of Representatives. In 1979 he was appointed to the Senate for a three-year term as one of the nominees of the Great Council of Chiefs.[1] He served on several government committees, including the Prime Minister's Youth Rehabilitation Committee, the Central District committee and the Divisional Development committee.[1] He was awarded an MBE in the 1986 New Year Honours for services to the community.[6]
Following a stroke, he died in the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva in February 1987 at the age of 55.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h Ratu Meli Loki Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1987, p51
- ^ a b A Fijian With A Difference Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1964, pp17–18
- ^ Pacific Perspective, Volumes 3–4, p48
- ^ Fiji's Boom Transforms the Easy Life The New York Times, 21 November 1972
- ^ Phyllis Herda, Michael Reilly & David Hilliard (2005) Vision and Reality in Pacific Religion p274
- ^ 3 new Pacific knights Pacific Islands Monthly, February 1986, p46