1970 To Present
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1972 | First post-independence election won by Ratu Mara's Alliance Party. |
| 1973 | Sugar industry nationalized. |
| 1977 | Constitutional crisis in which Governor-General Ratu Sir George Cakobau overturns election results, following the failure of the winning National Federation Party to put together a government. The election held to resolve the impasse results in a landslide for the Alliance Party. |
| 1978 | Fijian peacekeeping troops sent to Lebanon. |
| 1981 | Fijian peacekeeping troops sent to the Sinai following Israel's withdrawal. |
| 1987 | General election won by the Labour-National Federation Party coalition. On 13 April, Timoci Bavadra becomes Prime Minister for a month. 14 May - Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka carries out a coup d'état. 25 September - Rabuka stages a second coup to consolidate the gains of the first. 7 October - Rabuka proclaims a republic, severing the 113-year link to the British Monarchy. Fiji expelled from the Commonwealth of Nations. 5 December - Rabuka appoints Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau as Fiji's first President. |
| 1990 | New Constitution institutionalises ethnic Fijian domination of the political system. Group Against Racial Discrimination (GARD) formed to oppose the unilaterally imposed constitution and restore the 1970 constitution. |
| 1992 | Rabuka becomes Prime Minister following elections held under the new constitution. |
| 1994 | Election results force Rabuka to open negotiations with the Indo-Fijian-dominated opposition. |
| 1995 | Rabuka establishes the Constitutional Review Commission |
| 1997 | Constitutional conference leads to a new constitution, supported by most leaders of the indigenous Fijian and Indo-Fijian communities. Fiji is re-admitted to the Commonwealth of Nations. |
| 1999 | First general election held under the 1997 Constitution won by Fiji Labour Party (FLP). Mahendra Chaudhry becomes first Prime Minister of Indian descent. |
| 2000 | 19 May - civilian coup d'état instigated by George Speight effectively topples the Chaudhry government. 29 May - Commodore Frank Bainimarama assumes executive power after the resignation, possibly forced, of President Mara. 2 November - Mutiny at Suva's Queen Elizabeth Barracks. 15 November - High Court orders the reinstatement of the constitution. |
| 2001 | 1 March - Court of Appeals upholds High Court order reinstating constitution. September - General election held to restore democracy; a plurality won by interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase's Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL). Dec - Fiji readmitted to the Commonwealth |
| 2005 | May - Amid much controversy, the Qarase government proposes Reconciliation and Unity Commission, with power to recommend compensation for victims of the 2000 coup, and amnesty for its perpetrators. |
| 2006 | May 6–13 - SDL narrowly beats the FLP in parliamentary elections; multi-party Cabinet formed subsequently. 5 December 2006 - Commodore Bainimarama executes a coup against the government of Laisenia Qarase and declares himself Acting President of Fiji. |
| 2007 | January 4–5 - Bainimarama restores Iloilo to the Presidency; Iloilo endorses Bainimarama's coup and formally appoints him Prime Minister the next day. |
| 2009 | April - After the Court of Appeal rules that the 2006 coup was illegal, Iloilo suspends all judges and revokes the constitution. Bainimarama was reappointed Prime Minister and his Cabinet reinstalled. |
Read more about this topic: History Of Fiji
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