Mahendra Chaudhry

The Honourable[1] Mahendra Chaudhry
महेन्द्र चौधरी (Fiji Hindi)
Chaudhry in 2023
4th Prime Minister of Fiji
In office 19 May 1999 – 27 May 2000
President	Kamisese Mara
Deputy	Kuini Speed Tupeni Baba
Preceded by	Sitiveni Rabuka
Succeeded by	Tevita Momoedonu
3rd Leader of the Labour Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 1991
Preceded by	Kuini Speed
Member for Ba
In office 1999–2006
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Personal details
Born	(1942-02-09) 9 February 1942 (age 82) Ba, Colony of Fiji (present-day Fiji)
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Virmatee Chaudhry ​ (m. 1965)​
Children	3

Mahendra Pal Chaudhry (Fiji Hindi: महेन्द्र पाल चौधरी; born 9 February 1942) is a Fijian politician and the leader of the Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic election in which he defeated the long-time former leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, the former trade union leader became Fiji's first Indo-Fijian Prime Minister on 19 May 1999, but exactly one year later, on 19 May 2000 he and most of his Cabinet were taken hostage by coup leader George Speight, in the Fiji coup of 2000. Unable to exercise his duties, he and his ministers were sacked by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on 27 May; Mara intended to assume emergency powers himself but was himself deposed by the military leader, Commodore Frank Bainimarama.

After 56 days in captivity, Chaudhry was released on 13 July and subsequently embarked on a tour of the world to rally support. He was one of the leading voices raised in opposition to the Qarase government's proposed Reconciliation and Unity Commission, which he said was just a mechanism to grant amnesty to persons guilty of coup-related offences. In January 2007, he was appointed as Minister of Finance, Sugar Reform Public Enterprise and National Planning in the interim Cabinet of Commodore Frank Bainimarama, following another coup.^[2] Chaudhry was also co-chair of the task force focusing on economic growth within the National Council for Building a Better Fiji.^[3] In August 2008, he left the government and became an outspoken critic of it.