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Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum

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Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum
CF
ایاز سید خیوم
33rd Attorney-General of Fiji
In office
6 October 2014 – 24 December 2022
PresidentRatu Epeli Nailatikau
George Konrote
Wiliame Katonivere
Prime MinisterFrank Bainimarama
Preceded byFaiyaz Koya
Succeeded bySiromi Turaga
In office
8 January 2007 – 24 September 2014
PresidentRatu Josefa Iloilo
Epeli Nailatikau
Prime MinisterFrank Bainimarama
Preceded byQoriniasi Bale
Succeeded byFaiyaz Koya
Minister for Economy
In office
6 October 2014 – 24 December 2022
PresidentEpeli Nailatikau
George Konrote
Prime MinisterFrank Bainimarama
Preceded byFrank Bainimarama (as Minister of Finance)
Succeeded byBiman Prasad (as Minister of Finance)
Minister for Communications and Public Enterprise
In office
6 October 2014 – 24 December 2022
Minister for Civil Service
In office
6 October 2014 – 24 December 2022
Minister for Justice, Elections and Anti-Corruption
In office
6 December 2006 – 24 December 2022
PresidentRatu Josefa Iloilo
Ratu Epeli Nailatikau
George Konrote
Prime MinisterFrank Bainimarama
Personal details
Born (1965-09-24) 24 September 1965 (age 59)
Suva, Fiji
Political partyFijiFirst (2014–2024)
SpouseEla Gavoka (m. 2011)
RelationsViliame Gavoka (father-in-law)
ChildrenTwo sons, one daughter
Alma materANU (BA)
UNSW (LLB)
University of Hong Kong (LLM)
University of Wollongong (GDLP)
ProfessionLawyer

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum CF (born 24 September 1965[1]) is a Fijian politician and a former cabinet minister. He was the Fijian Attorney-General and the Minister for Economy, Civil Service and Communications, and also served as the Minister responsible for Climate Change under the FijiFirst government.[2] He is the third-highest polling candidate from the Fijian general elections of 2014,[3] 2018[4] and 2022.[5]

Prior to his appointment as a cabinet minister following FijiFirst's general election victory in September 2014, Sayed-Khaiyum was the Fijian Attorney-General and the Minister for Justice, Anti-Corruption, Public Enterprises, Communications, Civil Aviation, and the Minister responsible for Elections under the Bainimarama Government.

According to The Economist, the daily functioning of the Fijian government was run by Sayed-Khaiyum. The South China Morning Post describes Sayed-Khaiyum as one of the South Pacific's most powerful men.[6]

Sayed-Khaiyum is the former General Secretary of the FijiFirst party. He also served as the Fijian Governor in the Asian Development Bank, was the ADB Chair of the Board of Governors in 2018.[7] In 2019 he was the Chair of the Boards of Governors and Governor of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.

Following Frank Bainimarama's recovery from heart surgery in January 2022, Sayed-Khaiyum was named Acting Prime Minister.[8][9]

Early life and education

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Sayed-Khaiyum was born and raised in Suva and was educated at Marist Brothers High School. He has a Masters in Law from the University of Hong Kong. As part of his Masters program, he completed a thesis entitled 'Cultural Autonomy - It's Implications for Nation-State'. He also completed his Bachelors Degree in Law from the University of New South Wales. As part of his Degree program, he completed a thesis entitled 'Constitution Making in Divided Societies - Fiji, a case study'. He also completed a graduate diploma in legal practice from the University of Wollongong, and a bachelor's degree in political science from the Australian National University.

He was a former senior legal officer in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Sayed-Khaiyum was the General Manager of Legal and Compliance and was the Company Secretary in the Colonial Group of Companies for five years immediately prior to his appointment in the Interim Government by the President of Fiji. He also worked with the law firm of Minter Ellison in Sydney. He was on the board of Transparency International Fiji and has been President of the Fiji Young Lawyers Association.

Political career

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Sayed-Khaiyum was appointed to the interim government of Frank Bainimarama after the 2006 Fijian coup d'état as Interim Attorney-General and Justice Minister.[10] The 2006 coup has been described by some political historians as a final intervention intended to unite the country and forever put an end to the nation's spate of ethno-nationalist military takeovers.[11]

When Bainimarama formed the FijiFirst party, Sayed-Khaiyum was appointed its general secretary.[12]

Sayed-Khaiyum contested the 2014 election winning 13,753 votes and the 2018 Fijian general election winning 17,271 votes, being the third-highest polling candidate in both elections. He was re-elected in the 2022 Fijian general election[13] with 22524 votes, again pulling in the third-highest number of votes after former Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama and Sitiveni Rabuka.[14] Following the 2022 general election which resulted in a hung parliament, he said was no change in government until there was a vote in parliament in accordance with the 2013 Fijian Constitution.[15] He also questioned the validity of the new coalition between the National Federation Party and The People's Alliance citing concerns raised previously by SODELPA's outgoing general secretary.[16]

On 24 December 2022, Sitiveni Rabuka was voted as Prime Minister[17] on the floor of parliament and formed government with a wafer-thin majority of one vote. Sayed-Khaiyum later resigned from Parliament and currently operates his law firm in Nadi under the name Khidmat Law. On 9 December 2023 he resigned as general secretary of the FijiFirst party citing medical reasons while he was undergoing procedures in Singapore.[18][19] He raised a number of issues in his resignation letter to the Leader of FijiFirst, commenting on constitutionalism, breakdown of law and order and failed economic policies of the coalition government.

Political reforms

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Sayed-Khaiyum led national public consultations on the draft 2013 Fijian Constitution in the interior, urban, rural and maritime parts of Fiji. The 2013 Fijian Constitution established common and equal Fijian citizenry and an equally weighted voting system.[20]

In the lead-up to the 2014 general election, Sayed-Khaiyum also helped implement a new system of electronic voter registration, shape Fiji's new political party and electoral laws and attract international assistance.

Economic reforms

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As the Minister for Economy, Sayed-Khaiyum raised the income tax threshold from $16,000 to $30,000 and has progressively decreased Fiji's unemployment.[21] Fiji is currently experiencing its lowest unemployment rate in 15 years,[22] and the country's economy has recorded an unprecedented ten consecutive years of growth.[23]

Sayed-Khaiyum also oversaw a programme of civil service reform within the Fijian Government to promote merit-based recruitment and advancement.[24]

Climate change advocacy

[edit]

As Minister responsible for climate change and the leader of Fiji's COP23 delegation, Sayed-Khaiyum was also a global proponent of climate adaptation and increasing access to climate finance, and worked with governments, multilateral organisations and development banks to allow countries such as Fiji to obtain adequate levels of funding—on the basis of vulnerability—to build their resilience to climate change. At the COP23 negotiations, where Fiji served as president, parties agreed that the Adaptation Fund would serve the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the Fund was replenished with an impressive total of US$93.3 million.[25]

In Fiji, Sayed-Khaiyum spearheaded the creation of the climate change division in the Ministry of Economy to mainstream the critical issue in national planning and public financing decisions, making Fiji one of the few countries in the world where climate change sits with the ministry responsible for finance.[26] He also established a working group in the Office of the Attorney-General to examine peripheral legal issues related to climate change.[27]

Communications reforms

[edit]

During Sayed-Khaiyum's tenure as Minister for Communications, Fiji experienced a boom in access to high-speed internet services and Free-to-Air digital television, which is now available all throughout the geographically-remote nation.[28]

Sayed-Khaiyum oversaw the Fijian Government's digital transformation programme to digitise government services through a flagship partnership with the Singaporean Cooperation Enterprise, digitalFIJI.[29]

Criminal charges

[edit]

In February 2024 Sayed-Khaiyum was charged with abuse of office.[30]

On 4 October 2024 Sayed-Khaiyum was charged with 11 counts of abuse of office, 11 counts of receiving a corrupt benefit, 11 counts of breach of trust by a public servant, and 11 counts of unlawful carriage of a firearm on an aircraft.[31][32]

Personal life

[edit]

Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is the son of former MP Sayed Abdul Khaiyum. In 2011 he married Ela Gavoka, the daughter of current Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Viliame Gavoka. Together they have two sons, Ibrahim and Idris and daughter, Imaan.

References

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  1. ^ Sayed-Khaiyum, Aiyaz (23 September 2015). "AG celebrated his birthday today with team members. Happy Birthday AG!pic.twitter.com/gKY3BzUHRS".
  2. ^ "Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum" (PDF). Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  3. ^ "2014 General Elections Results – Fijian Elections Office". Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  4. ^ "2018 Results - FEO". Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  5. ^ "Declaration of Results – The Electoral Commission Fiji". 28 December 2022. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  6. ^ "In Fiji, bomb attack claims against Indo-Fijian attorney-general stoke racial tensions". SCMP. 15 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum". Bloomberg L.P. 25 November 2018. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  8. ^ Noble, Phil (12 February 2022). "Fiji Leader Bainimarama A No-show For Visit By Top US Diplomat". Barrons. AFP-Agence France Presse. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  9. ^ Anthony, Kelvin (7 February 2022). "Fiji's PM needs 'time to recuperate' says govt". RNZ. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Fiji's new Cabinet in profile". Fiji Times. 8 January 2007. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  11. ^ The 2006 Military Takeover in Fiji. State, Society and Governance in Melanesia. Vol. 4. ANU Press. 2009. ISBN 9781921536502. JSTOR j.ctt24hdz7.
  12. ^ "Fiji's Bainimarama lodges party application - Radio New Zealand News". 5 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  13. ^ Singh, Indira (18 December 2022). "Top 55 confirmed". FBC. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum (293)". Fijian Elections Office. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Sayed-Khaiyum says they have accepted the results, but questions what defeat they are to concede to". Fiji Village. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Nothing to concede - FijiFirst says election can only be decided in parliament". RNZ. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  17. ^ "Fiji parliament confirms Sitiveni Rabuka as prime minister after days of uncertainty". The Guardian. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  18. ^ Jale Daucakacaka (11 December 2023). "Sayed-Khaiyum resigns as FijiFirst GS". FBC News. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  19. ^ "FijiFirst general secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum resigns, launches criticism against government". RNZ. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  20. ^ "CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI" (PDF). PACLII. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  21. ^ "Talk Tax – Increase on Personal Income Tax Threshold" (PDF). Fiji Revenue & Customs Service. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Unemployment in Fiji Drops to Lowest Level in 15 Years".
  23. ^ "Economy on track to grow for 9 years".
  24. ^ "Open merit system to bolster confidence: AG".
  25. ^ Urioh, Tajiel. Report and Analysis of Un Climate Change Conference 2017 Bonn Germany (Report).
  26. ^ "Fiji | Pacific Climate Change Portal".
  27. ^ "Climate Change: The Fiji Islands Response" (PDF). Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  28. ^ "Fiji is going digital". Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  29. ^ "Big Plans for digitalFIJI".
  30. ^ "Ex-Fiji PM Bainimarama, Sayed-Khaiyum charged for abuse of office, kept in police custody overnight". RNZ. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  31. ^ "Sayed- Khaiyum, Voss and Ali face 66 counts of various charges". Fiji Times. 4 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  32. ^ Praneeta Prakash (4 October 2024). "44 counts against Sayed-Khaiyum as 66 charges laid". FBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of Fiji
2007–2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Attorney General of Fiji
2014–2022 		Succeeded by
Assembly seats
Preceded by
 Member of Parliament
2014–2023 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Justice, Elections and Anti-Corruption
2006–2022 		Incumbent
Minister for Economy
2014–2022
Party political offices
Party established Secretary-General of FijiFirst
2014–2024 		Succeeded by
Disestablished
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