1987 Fijian coups d'état

Two military coups in Fiji in 1987, led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, overthrew the elected government and ended the country's constitutional ties to the British Crown.

Sitiveni Rabuka: A Fijian military officer and politician who led the 1987 coups and later served as prime minister. As army lieutenant colonel, he led both coups and announced Fiji's first republic.
Indo-Fijians: Fijians whose ancestry is primarily from the Indian subcontinent, many descended from indentured laborers brought under British rule. The coalition's electoral success heightened fears among some Indigenous Fijians about political power and land.
1987 Fijian constitutional crisis: The breakdown of Fiji's constitutional government following the coups and abrogation of the 1970 constitution. The seizures of power produced this prolonged constitutional rupture.
Fiji coups of 2006: A military takeover in Fiji in December 2006, led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama. Unlike Rabuka's coups, the 2006 takeover was justified in part as opposition to ethnic preference policies.
1987 Fijian general election: The April 1987 election in which the Fiji Labour Party–National Federation Party coalition defeated the Alliance Party. The coalition's victory supplied the immediate political setting for the coups.
Indigenous Fijians: The Indigenous people of Fiji, also known as iTaukei. Claims to protect Indigenous political interests featured prominently in support for the coups.
1990 Constitution of Fiji: The constitution promulgated in 1990 that reserved parliamentary representation for Indigenous Fijians and other ethnic communities. It codified a new political order after the coups and intensified ethnic distinctions in representation.
1987 Fijian general strike: A strike movement in Fiji following the May 1987 coup, involving unions and political opponents of military rule. It offers a prominent example of resistance that did not take the form of a counter-coup.
Fiji Labour Party: A political party founded in Fiji in 1985, with a multiracial support base and a strong trade-union connection. Its coalition government was the elected administration displaced by the coups.
Fiji Alliance Party: A multiracial political party that governed Fiji from independence until its defeat in the 1987 election. Its loss to the Labour-led coalition preceded the military takeover.

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