The People’s Alliance has appointed Usaia Waqatairewa as its new General Secretary, and the party’s Registered Officer with the Fijian Elections Office.
Waqatairewa succeeds Sakiasi Ditoka who has vacated the role following his appointment as the Minister for Rural and Maritime Development and Disaster Management.
Waqatairewa is no stranger to politics in Fiji, having led and mobilized support for the People’s Alliance and SODELPA before this in Australia where he used to live.
He was the first President of the Fiji Democracy and Freedom Movement in Australia following the ousting of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase in a military coup by Voreqe Bainimarama in 2006, and served briefly as General Secretary of SODELPA in 2020.
He is a former Deputy Director of the Fiji Human Rights Commission and has also worked at the now renamed iTaukei Land Trust Board, Connect, Merchant Finance and Fijian Holdings.
Waqatairewa holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Charles Sturt University and a post-graduate diploma in accounting from Macquarie University in Australia. He is from Cautata village in Tailevu.
