On September 25, 1987 Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka staged a second coup in Fiji, deposing the Governor-General, abrogating the constitution, and moving to end the monarchy, which culminated in Fiji being declared a republic in October 1987. After Rabuka's first coup in May, the Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau had opened negotiations that produced a September accord for a government of national unity between the deposed Bavadra government and the Alliance Party. Fearing the gains of the first coup would be lost, Rabuka struck again on September 25, 1987.
He declared Fiji a republic on October 7, 1987, abrogating the constitution and stating that he had removed the Governor-General from office and become head of an interim military government. Ganilau resigned as Governor-General, ending Queen Elizabeth II's role as Queen of Fiji, though he later became the first President. The dataset dates this September 28, 1987 and codes the deposed leader's fate as not physically harmed.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, the crown's representative, whose office Rabuka abrogated in the September 1987 second coup ending the monarchy; Ganilau was not physically harmed and later became the first President.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Sitiveni Rabuka (led the second coup and declared a republic)
Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau (governor-general whose office was abrogated)
Queen Elizabeth II (deposed as Queen of Fiji)
Sources
A second coup on 25 September 1987 ended the monarchy and was shortly followed by the proclamation of a republic on 10 October, and the 1987 Fijian coups resulted in the overthrow of the elected Bavadra government, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and the declaration of a republic.
Fearing that the gains of the first coup were about to be lost, Rabuka staged a second coup on 25 September, then declared Fiji a republic on 7 October 1987, abrogating the Constitution of Fiji, stating that he had removed the Governor-General from office, and declaring himself Head of the Interim Military Government.
The second coup followed the Deuba Accord of 23 September 1987, which had provided for a government of national unity in which both the deposed government and the Alliance Party would be represented under the leadership of the Governor-General, an arrangement Rabuka moved to prevent.
Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau resigned as Governor-General on 15 October 1987, although he was made the first President of Fiji on 6 December 1987, and a list of coups records that on this second coup Rabuka overthrew Governor General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau and Queen Elizabeth II and Fiji was proclaimed a republic.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWikipedia, 1987 Fijian coups d'etat and List of coupsopen source ↗
Editorial Note
Coding note: the dataset labels this a military coup with a not-physically-harmed fate; it was Rabuka's second 1987 coup, which abrogated the constitution and ended the monarchy. Who is coded deposed: unlike the May coup (which deposed Prime Minister Bavadra), this second coup targeted the crown's authority, removing the Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau from office and deposing Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji; Ganilau was not harmed and indeed became the first President of the new republic in December 1987. Date nuance flagged: the dataset dates this September 28, 1987; sources place the second coup on September 25, 1987, with the republic proclaimed October 7 to 10, 1987, and the September dates are recorded. Arc link: this is the second of the two linked Fiji 1987 records, following the May 14 coup. Contested subject handled neutrally: the ethnic dimension (indigenous Fijian versus Indo-Fijian) is recorded as documented background. Historical weight recorded: the coups ended Fiji's status as a Commonwealth realm and made it a republic; Australia, New Zealand, the US, and the UK adopted a policy of non-recognition and suspended aid, recorded as documented reactions.
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: Governor-General Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, the crown's representative, whose office Rabuka abrogated in the September 1987 second coup ending the monarchy; Ganilau was not physically harmed and later became the first President..
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
“With ‘God on My Side,’ Coup Leader Attempts to Regain Fiji’s Paradise Lost,” October 23, 1987
New York Times
“Military leader in Fiji Initiates Another Coup,” September 25, 1987
“Leader of Fiji Coup Tightens Grip with Decree on Powers,” October 25, 1987
“Asia: Fiji Leader Loses Election,” May 18, 1999
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →