Obituary

[posted 1 Feb 2011,1615]
 

The Fiji Labour Party mourns the death of one of its longest serving stalwarts, Satyendra, a retired senior civil servant, and former Suva City Councillor.

Satyendra, 65, passed away at the CWM Hospital in Suva at 4 am today after a prolonged struggle with diabetes. He had served in various government departments including the Ministries of Tourism and Finance, retiring as a Senior Administrative Officer in 2001.

After his retirement, he became a full time activist for the FLP and the National Farmers Union. He served a term as Labour’s Councillor on the Suva City Council from 2002-2005, elected from the Samabula Ward.

In April 2005, Satyendra joined FLP’s Opposition office in Parliament as an Administrative Officer. He remained a staff member until the dissolution of Parliament following the Army takeover of December 2006. He continued as a Party activist, moving to the FLP/NFU headquarters in Suva until ill-health forced him to retire from political activities in 2008.

Satyendra was a close personal and family friend of Labour Leader Mahendra Chaudhry. Paying tribute to his friend yesterday, Mr Chaudhry said:

“I have lost a dear and trusted friend. Our friendship goes back some 25 years during which time we worked together to advance the cause of the Fiji Labour Party and the National Farmers Union.

“Satyendra was an accomplished organiser. He was well acquainted with the workings of the government machinery having himself worked in senior positions within the civil service. His administrative skills were a great asset to both the NFU and the FLP.

“As a friend he stood by me through testing times and never wavered in his loyalty either to me or to the organisations he served.

My sincere condolences to his wife Sashi and the children. May his soul rest in peace."