Laisenia Qarase

Prime Minister of Fiji

4 February 1941 Vanua Balavu, Colony of Fiji

21 April 2020(2020-04-21) (79) Suva, Fiji

16 March 2001 – 5 December 2006

Prime Minister of Fiji Laisenia Qarase (pronounced ; 4 February 1941 – 21 April 2020) was a Fijian politician. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment as Prime Minister on 4 July. He won two parliamentary elections, but a military coup removed him from power on 5 December 2006. He was later imprisoned on corruption charges brought by the military-backed regime. A native of Vanua Balavu Island in the Lau archipelago, he was one of many Lauans to have held top leadership positions in Fiji.