Education and Early Career
Ratu Cakobau was educated first at Fiji's Queen Victoria School, then at Newington College in Australia (1927–1932) and Wanganui Technical College in Wanganui, New Zealand. He became a member of the Great Council of Chiefs in 1938, where he remained until 1972. When he first joined the Council, it had the power to make laws for the ethnic Fijian population, but this power was removed towards the end of the colonial era, as modern political institutions were built.
Ratu Cakobau served with the Fiji Military Forces in World War II (1939–1945), rising to the rank of Captain. Following his return to Fiji after the end of the war, he was elected to the Legislative Council in 1951. He remained a member of this body, which was renamed the House of Representatives when Fiji became independent in 1970, until his appointment as Governor-General. He served in the Cabinet, first as Minister for Fijian Affairs and Local Government and subsequently as a minister without portfolio, from 1970 to 1972.
Read more about this topic: George Cakobau
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