Kaliopate Tavola - Retirement and Reappointment

Retirement and Reappointment

In an interview published on 2 February 2006 by Islands Business International, Tavola announced his decision not to contest forthcoming elections, due on 6-13 May, citing his age, health, and family commitments. "Because of my other commitments in life and for family and health reasons ... I would be doing a disservice to myself and to the country if I stood in the coming general election," he said. Prime Minister Qarase had attempted, unsuccessfully, to dissuade him from this decision, he revealed. He clarified on 23 February that he only wanted to rest, and was not interested in returning to the diplomatic service.

Following the victory of the ruling SDL in the general election, Prime Minister Qarase persuaded Tavola to reverse his decision to retire from the Cabinet. As Cabinet Ministers are required to be members of one of the two Houses of the Parliament, he accepted the Prime Minister's invitation to become a Senator as one of nine nominees of the Prime Minister. "I had my retirement worked out. I was going to start some consultancy work and all that," he said in a Fiji Live interview published on 11 June 2006. "It was a last-minute approach to me by the Prime Minister to consider coming back into this important portfolio."

The Fiji Live news service claimed on 4 February that Tavola was Fiji's most popular politician. Following the 2000 coup crisis, Tavola was reportedly the only Ministerial candidate acceptable to both the Military and the rebels led by George Speight. Fiji Live also claims that he remained the only Cabinet Minister to retain the favour of the Military after relations between the government and the Military worsened from 2003 onwards. However, he still lost his post in the Cabinet, along with his fellow Ministers, in the military coup that deposed the government on 5 December 2006.