The late Speaker Dr Luveni laid to rest
The funeral service for Speaker of Parliament at Suva’s Centenary Church yesterday heard how Dr Jiko Fatafehi Luveni produced six firsts in Fiji.
These were:
The first female Fijian dentist,
Fiji’s first honorary fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons,
the first female chair of a provincial council,
the first president of the FijiFirst party,
the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives,
the first Speaker to have represented Fiji in two different sports in table tennis and golf.
This was highlighted by Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, National Disaster and Management Office Jone Usamate, when he delivered a eulogy at the service on behalf of the Government.
While praising Dr Luveni for her service in Fiji and to Fiji, Mr Usamate said she had a track record that would be hard for anybody to surpass.
Family, friends and colleagues gathered in numbers to farewell Dr Luveni, who served Fiji for 50 years. “This thanksgiving service of the life of Dr Jiko Fatafehi Luveni, the Speaker of the House, minister, civil servant, regional civil servant, advocate and social activist, a true leader, wife, mother, grandmother, a true lady and daughter of Fiji in the highest sense of the term,” Mr Usamate said. “Dr Jiko Fatafehi Luveni has been a true patriot and a servant of our country, a country she served for 50 years. 50 years of service to the country. Her initial period of service to this country was in the health sector. She graduated as the first Fijian female dentist in 1967. “She is the third only woman to be given an honorary fellowship from the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, the alternate honour for any dentist in the Pacific. Under her leadership as Minister for Women, many programmes were established that have had a lasting impact and continue to have an impact on the people of this country today.
“Gender equality and women empowerment were always at the centre of her focus. The inauguration of the National Women’s Expo has become something that all women in this country look forward to. She was instrumental in gender development initiatives.
“In her service to the people of her province she was called to be chairperson of the Lau Provincial Council, becoming the first female chairperson of a provincial council in Fiji.
“Fiji needed a new speaker of Parliament and it was to Dr Luveni that we turned. She has brought Parliament to the people with her Meet the Speaker session, the roadshows, the Speakers Debate series and she had done extraordinary things in this most important assignment. Mr Usamate said it would be hard to surpass the legacy that was left behind by Dr Luveni.
“As the first female Speaker of the Fijian Parliament she was in an influential position to convince women that women could effectively play the leadership role. “She has forever changed the status quo of Fijian politics and she brought a new perspective to our political life and new expectations for gender equity.
“Her life of firsts is a message to us. It is her legacy to us. The Government of Fiji honours her for her service to the people of this country. We honour her for her courage and her fortitude and her dedication. We thank the vanua of Naduruvesi and his people and the families for this daughter of yours.”
Dr Luveni died on December 22 after a short illness.