Ratu Sir Penaia Kanatabatu Ganilau earning a cap in a 14–4 win over New Zealand Maori on 16 September. During World War II he served as a company commander. He became a nominated member of the Legislative Council in 1959 and subsequently returned to the civil service and became Deputy Secretary for Fijian Affairs in 1961.
Political career
In 1963, in the first elections in which ethnic Fijians voted directly, Ganilau was elected to the Legislative Council. He did not stand in the 1966 elections, but when responsible government was instituted in 1967, he was appointed Minister for Fijian Affairs and Local Government, serving until 1970. He subsequently served as Minister for Home Affairs, Lands and Mineral Resources from 1970 to 1972, when he became Minister for Communications, Works and Tourism. In 1973, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, a position he was to hold for the next decade; during this time, he also served as Minister for Home Affairs (1975–1983) and as Minister for Fijian Affairs and Rural Development (1977–1983). In 1983 he became Governor-General.
Last Governor-General, first President
Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau was to be Fiji's last Governor-General. Two military coups were carried out in 1987 by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. After the first coup on 14 May, Ganilau defiantly refused to give up the office of Governor-General. Attempting to uphold the constitution, he tried to return Fiji to parliamentary democracy, but a second coup forced him to resign as Governor-General on 15 October 1987, with the ending of Fiji's monarchy.
In his letter of resignation, addressed to Queen Elizabeth II, Ganilau wrote: <blockquote>"With humble duty, I wish to submit to you the following advice, acting in my capacity as your representative in Fiji. Owing to the uncertainty of the political and constitutional situation in Fiji, I have now made up my mind to request Your Majesty to relieve me of my appointment as Governor-General with immediate effect. This I do with utmost regret, but my endeavours to preserve constitutional government in Fiji have proved in vain, and I can see no alternative way forward. With the deepest respect, Penaia Ganilau, Governor-General."</blockquote>
On 8 December 1987, Ratu Ganilau was appointed the first president of the new Republic of Fiji.