Kamisese Mara Quotes
1920–2004
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara (May 6, 1920 - April 18, 2004), Founding father and Long-time Prime Minister and President of Fiji.
Also known as: Mara, Kamisese, Mara, Ratu Sir Kamisese
Random Kamisese Mara quote
12 quotes
It is with obedience to your call that I take up the burden of government leadership for the final time.
"It was the work of opportunists, crooks, thugs for their own self-gain and interest."
"I had been in touch with a lot of people I thought would stand by me in the front row of the scrum, (I) didn't know it was going to collapse."
(On his Catholic faith): "Certainly it has been the rock on which I have always been able to rely in good times and in bad, and it is the lodestone of my life."
The Pacific Way: A Memoir (1996)
At that stage my heart ruled my head".
"If the constitution goes, I go."
How could I stand by and watch my house on fire? (This quote, and the one following, were part of his defence for joining Sitiveni Rabuka's military government in 1987).
But my friends, my brothers and sisters of the Pacific, we know who we are. We carry in our hearts the knowledge that we are the bearers of a proud legacy that surely marks us as people of strength, and courage and will. We have survived in our aquatic continent through many centuries.
"Above all there is our fixed joint determination to build a strong and united Fiji, rich in diversity and pampered with tolerance, goodwill and understanding." (Attributed to Mara by his successor as President, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, 10 October 2005).
"The reconciliation that has been undertaken today will be worthless if investigations into the coup do not reveal the truth behind the staging."
Attributed
"In a multi-racial society, trust, understanding and tolerance are the cornerstones of peace and order".
Attributed
"The Pacific Way … is not a thing or state; it is the working out of a process. (But) … the most important things in life are the most difficult to measure … love, peace of mind, creativity, fulfillment, maturity or wisdom, for example."
Attributed