On May 14, 1987 Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka led a military coup in Fiji that overthrew the recently elected government of Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the first of two coups Rabuka would stage that year. Bavadra's coalition, which drew heavy support from the Indo-Fijian community, had won the April 1987 election, displacing the long-governing Alliance Party backed by most indigenous Fijians, in a country long marked by tension between the two ethnic groups. On the morning of May 14, 1987 a section of masked, armed soldiers led by Rabuka entered the House of Representatives and ordered the members of parliament, including Bavadra, to leave; they did so without resistance, and the coup was accomplished without loss of life.
Rabuka sought recognition from the Governor-General, who dissolved parliament. Bavadra was detained but not harmed.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, overthrown on May 14, 1987 by Rabuka's coup; he was detained but not physically harmed.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Timoci Bavadra (prime minister overthrown)
Sitiveni Rabuka (lieutenant colonel who led the coup)
Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau (governor-general)
Sources
The first Fijian coup of 1987, in which Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra was deposed, took place on 14 May 1987, led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka, then third in command of the Royal Fiji Military Forces.
On the morning of 14 May, around 10 am, a section of ten masked, armed soldiers entered the Fijian House of Representatives and subdued the national legislature, Lieutenant Colonel Rabuka approached Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra and ordered the members of parliament to leave the building, which they did without resisting, and the coup was accomplished without loss of life.
Both before and after Fiji regained independence from the United Kingdom in 1970, tensions between the indigenous Fijian and Indo-Fijian ethnic groups, comprising an estimated 46 percent and 49 percent of the 1987 population respectively, continually manifested in social and political unrest, the backdrop to the coups.
The Governor-General dissolved Parliament and granted amnesty to Rabuka while promoting him to commander of the Royal Fiji Military Forces, actions viewed with suspicion by the deposed government, and Bavadra challenged the Governor-General's decision in the Supreme Court, which ruled the May coup totally unconstitutional.
Fate coding: the deposed prime minister Timoci Bavadra was detained during the coup but not physically harmed, matching the dataset. Coding note: the dataset labels this a military coup, accurately, led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka of the Royal Fiji Military Forces. Arc link: this is the first of two linked Fiji 1987 records; its companion is the September 1987 second coup by which Rabuka deposed the Governor-General and declared a republic. Contested subject handled neutrally: the coups had an explicit ethnic dimension, a reaction by elements of the indigenous Fijian establishment to the election of a government backed heavily by the Indo-Fijian community; this is recorded as documented context, with the population figures attributed to their source, rather than adjudicated. Bloodless nature recorded: the takeover of parliament was accomplished without loss of life. Aftermath recorded: the Governor-General dissolved parliament and negotiations followed (the Deuba talks), which Rabuka then pre-empted with his September coup; the Supreme Court had ruled the May coup unconstitutional.
Cross-Reference
Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, overthrown on May 14, 1987 by Rabuka's coup; he was detained but not physically harmed..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
“Army Officer in Fiji Ousts Government, Arrests Senior Aides,” May 14, 1987
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