Mahendra Chaudhry | |
|---|---|
| महेन्द्र चौधरी (Fiji Hindi) | |
 Chaudhry in 2023 | |
| 4th Prime Minister of Fiji | |
| In office 19 May 1999 – 27 May 2000 | |
| President | Kamisese Mara |
| Deputy | Kuini Speed Tupeni Baba |
| Preceded by | Sitiveni Rabuka |
| Succeeded by | Tevita Momoedonu |
| 3rd Leader of the Labour Party | |
| Assumed office 1991 | |
| Preceded by | Kuini Speed |
| Member for Ba | |
| In office 1999–2006 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Office abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 February 1942 Ba, Colony of Fiji (present-day Fiji) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse |
Virmatee Chaudhry (m. 1965) |
| Children | 3 |
Mahendra Pal Chaudhry (Fiji Hindi: महेन्द्र पाल चौधरी; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, the former trade union leader became Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister on 19 May 1999, but exactly one year later, on 19 May 2000 he and most of his Cabinet were taken hostage by coup leader George Speight, in the Fiji coup of 2000. Unable to exercise his duties, he and his ministers were sacked by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on 27 May; Mara intended to assume emergency powers himself but was himself deposed by the military leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama.
After 56 days in captivity, Chaudhry was released on 13 July and subsequently embarked on a tour of the world to rally support. He was one of the leading voices raised in opposition to the Qarase government's proposed Reconciliation and Unity Commission, which he said was just a mechanism to grant amnesty to persons guilty of coup-related offences. In January 2007, he was appointed as Minister of Finance, Sugar Reform Public Enterprise and National Planning in the interim Cabinet of Commodore Frank Bainimarama, following another coup.[2] Chaudhry was also co-chair of the task force focusing on economic growth within the National Council for Building a Better Fiji.[3] In August 2008, he left the government and became an outspoken critic of it.
- ^ The Commonwealth at the Summit: 1997–2005. Commonwealth Secretariat. 29 January 2006. ISBN 9780850928570. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "More ministers join interim Cabinet" Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Fiji Times, 9 January 2007.
- ^ "Flawed democracy" Archived 20 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Fiji Labour Party website, 23 July 2008