45 Notable alumni of University of the South Pacific
Updated: May 01, 2026 EliteDegrees
University of the South Pacific is ranked #1,861 in the world and #1 in Fiji by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 45 notable alumni from University of the South Pacific sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with University of the South Pacific won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Milner Tozaka
1951-. (aged 75)
diplomat
politician
George Milner Tozaka OBE, better known as Milner Tozaka, is a Solomon Islands diplomat and politician.
2. Patteson Oti
1956-. (aged 70)
diplomat
politician
John Patteson Oti, sometimes called Patterson Oti, is a Solomon Islands politician and diplomat. He was Minister for Foreign Affairs, External Trade and Immigration from May 2006 to 22 December 2007. He is the secretary general of the Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party ("Our Party"), which was launched in early 2010. Since March 2012, he has been his country's High...
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3. Ali'ioaiga Feturi Elisaia
1954-. (aged 72)
diplomat
politician
Ali'ioaiga Feturi Elisaia is a Samoan diplomat. He was Samoa's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
4. ‘Akosita Lavulavu
1984-. (aged 42)
politician
ʻAkosita Havili Lavulavu is a Tongan politician and former Cabinet Minister. In 2021 she was jailed for fraud.
5. Hala Hameed
1963-. (aged 63)
politician
Hala Hameed is a Maldivian politician and diplomat who has been heading the Bilateral Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since August 2022.
6. Sione Ngongo Kioa
1959-. (aged 67)
diplomat
economist
politician
Sione Ngongo Kioa is a Tongan diplomat and civil servant. From 2013 to 2022 he served as governor of National Reserve Bank of Tonga.
7. Alice Pollard
politician
activist
Dr. Alice Aruhe'eta Pollard is a women's rights and peace advocate from the Solomon Islands.
8. Sione Sangster Saulala
1974-. (aged 52)
politician
Sione Sangster Saulala is a Tongan politician, broadcaster, and Cabinet Minister. He was a member of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands early in his political career.
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9. Douglas Ete
1964-. (aged 62)
civil servant
politician
Douglas Ete is a Solomon Islands politician.
10. Fatafehi Fakafānua, 8th Lord Fakafānua
1985-. (aged 41)
politician
Fatafehi Kinikinilau Lolomana‘ia Fakafānua, 8th Lord Fakafānua is a Tongan politician and noble who has served as prime minister of Tonga since 18 December 2025. He is an extended member of the Tongan royal family.
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11. Afelee F. Pita
1958-. (aged 68)
diplomat
Afelee Falema Pita is a Tuvaluan diplomat. He was Tuvalu's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 19 December 2006 to December 2012, and was also the ambassador to the United States.
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12. Barina Waqa
civil servant
Barina Waqa is the Secretary for Multi-Cultural Affairs with the Department of Justice and Border Control in Nauru. She is Nauru's first female lawyer.
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13. Sione Taione
1971-. (aged 55)
politician
Percy Sione Havea Taione, more commonly known as Sione Taione, is a Tongan politician. He belongs to the Seventh-day Adventist Church and serves as an Elder for the Malapo Church in Tonga.
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14. Kuini Speed
1949-2004 (aged 55)
civil servant
politician
Adi Kuini Teimumu Vuikaba Speed was a Fijian chief and politician, who served as Deputy Prime Minister from May 1999 to May 2000.
15. Simon Kofe
1984-. (aged 42)
politician
Simon Kofe is a Tuvaluan politician. He was appointed as the Minister for Justice, Communication & Foreign Affairs, in the cabinet of Kausea Natano following the 2019 Tuvaluan general election.
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16. Tupou Draunidalo
lawyer
politician
Roko Tupou Takaiwai Senirewa Draunidalo is a Fijian lawyer and politician. She is a former member of the Parliament of Fiji and from 2018 to 2022 was the president of the HOPE party.
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17. Abdulla Jihad
1963-. (aged 63)
politician
Abdulla Jihad is a Maldivian politician who served as vice president of the Maldives from 22 June 2016 to 17 November 2018. Prior to his appointment on 22 June 2016, he served as the minister of finance.
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18. Jone Usamate
1962-. (aged 64)
politician
Jone Usamate is a Fijian politician, who served as the Minister for Infrastructure and Meteorological Services from 2014 to 2022 and Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources from 2020 to 2022 in the Fijian government.
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19. Teimumu Kepa
1945-. (aged 81)
politician
Ro Teimumu Vuikaba Kepa is a Fijian chief, former Member of the Parliament of Fiji, and former leader of the Social Democratic Liberal Party. She was the first Fijian woman to serve as Leader of the Opposition. She previously held the position of Deputy Prime Minister in the Qarase-led Soqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua (SDL) government from 2001 to 2006. As...
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20. Brij Lal
1952-2021 (aged 69)
historian
politician
Brij Vilash Lal AM, FAHA, OF was an Indo-Fijian historian who wrote about the Pacific region and the Indian indenture system. A harsh critic of the Bainimarama government, which originated in the military coup of 2006 and retained power in the 2014 elections, he lived in exile in Australia.
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21. Iolu Abil
1942-. (aged 84)
politician
Iolu Johnson Abil is a Vanuatuan politician. He was elected and sworn in as the president of Vanuatu on 2 September 2009.
22. Willy Telavi
1954-. (aged 72)
politician
Willy Telavi is a Tuvaluan politician who served as Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 2010 to 2013.
23. Mark Brown
1963-. (aged 63)
politician
Mark Stephen Brown is a Cook Islands politician and Prime Minister of the Cook Islands. He previously served as Deputy Prime Minister under Henry Puna. He is a member of the Cook Islands Party.
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24. Joe Natuman
1952-. (aged 74)
diplomat
politician
Joe Natuman is a Vanuatuan politician of the Vanua'aku Pati and former Prime Minister of Vanuatu.
25. Mahendra Reddy
politician
economist
Dr. Mahendra Reddy is a Fijian politician and former Member of the Parliament of Fiji. He served as the Minister for Agriculture, Waterways and Environment from 2017 to 2022.
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26. Grace Mera Molisa
1946-2002 (aged 56)
poet
writer
politician
Grace Mera Molisa was a Ni-Vanuatu politician, poet and campaigner for women's equality in politics. The Australian described her as "a vanguard for Melanesian culture and a voice of the Vanuatuans, especially women". She has also been described as one of the Pacific's "leading public intellectuals and activists".
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27. Shaista Shameem
lawyer
Shaista Shameem is a Fijian lawyer. She was the director of the Fiji Human Rights Commission from 2002 to 2007, and its director and chairperson from 2007 to 2009. A graduate of the University of the South Pacific, she holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Waikato and a Masters in Law from the University of Auckland. She...
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28. Shamima Ali
Shamima Ali is a Fijian political activist of Indian descent. As of July 2015, she is the Coordinator of the Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, a post she has held for many years. She has also been a member of the Fiji Human Rights Commission (FHRC).
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29. Aseri Radrodro
1972-. (aged 54)
politician
Aseri Masivou Radrodro is a Fijian politician and Cabinet Minister. Since April 2024 he has been the Leader of the Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA).
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30. Paresh Narayan
1977-. (aged 49)
writer
economist
Paresh Kumar Narayan, is a Fijian-Australian academic of Fiji Indian origin. He was Australia's youngest Professor of Finance, and is now at Monash University.
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31. Dr. Gregory S. Stone
1957-. (aged 69)
oceanographer
Gregory Schofield Stone is an ocean scientist, explorer, and marine conservationist. He has published research on marine mammals in Antarctica, on ice ecology, and on New Zealand's Hector's dolphin. Stone is also an undersea technology and exploration specialist, particularly in his use of deep-sea submersibles, and has produced a series of marine conservation films.
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32. Viliame Gavoka
1950-. (aged 76)
politician
Viliame "Bill" Rogoibulu Gavoka is a Fijian politician and Cabinet Minister. From 28 November 2020 to 2022 he was leader of the Social Democratic Liberal Party, after ousting Sitiveni Rabuka in the SODELPA leadership contest.
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33. Baron Waqa
1959-. (aged 67)
composer
politician
Baron Divavesi Waqa is a Nauruan politician who currently serves as the secretary-general of the Pacific Islands Forum. He was the President of Nauru from 11 June 2013 until 27 August 2019. He previously served as Minister of Education from 2004 to 2007.
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34. Taneti Maamau
1960-. (aged 66)
politician
Taneti Maamau is an I-Kiribati politician who has served as the fifth president of Kiribati since 2016. A member of the Tobwaan Kiribati Party, his policies are targeted at strengthening Kiribati's weak economy and alleviating social issues. His government announced the Kiribati Vision for 20 Years (KV20), which plans to develop the tourism and fishing industries with aid from foreign...
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35. Kausea Natano
1957-. (aged 69)
politician
Kausea Natano is a politician who served as the Prime Minister of Tuvalu from 19 September 2019 to 26 February 2024. He represented Funafuti as a Member of Parliament. He was first elected in the 2002 Tuvaluan general election and served as an MP until he was unseated in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election.
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36. ʻAkilisi Pohiva
1941-2019 (aged 78)
teacher
politician
Samiuela ʻAkilisi Pōhiva was a Tongan pro-democracy activist and politician. A key leader of the Democratic Party of the Friendly Islands (DPFI), he served as the Prime Minister of Tonga from 2014 to his death in 2019. He was only the fourth commoner to serve as Prime Minister (after Shirley Baker in the 1880s, Siosateki Tonga in the 1890s and...
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37. Hu'akavameiliku
1970-. (aged 56)
politician
Siaosi ‘Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni, styled Hon. Hu‘akavameiliku, is a Tongan politician who served as the prime minister of Tonga from 2021 until his resignation in 2024. He had previously served as a cabinet minister, and from 2014 to 2017, he was deputy prime minister of Tonga. He is the current estate holder of the village of Ha'asini.
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38. Nikenike Vurobaravu
1951-. (aged 75)
diplomat
politician
Nikenike Vurobaravu is a ni-Vanuatu diplomat and politician who has served as President of Vanuatu since 23 July 2022. Previously having been employed in numerous diplomatic and government positions, including as the first resident High Commissioner to Fiji, he was elected as president during the eighth round of the 2022 Vanuatu presidential election in July 2022. He is a member...
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39. Jeremiah Manele
1968-. (aged 58)
politician
Jeremiah Manele is a Solomonese politician and the current prime minister of Solomon Islands since 2024. He is the first prime minister of the country to come from Isabel Province.
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40. Ludwig Scotty
1948-. (aged 78)
politician
Ludwig Derangadage Scotty is a Nauruan politician who twice served as President of Nauru and was Speaker of Parliament five times between 2000 and 2016. He served as president from 29 May 2003 to 8 August 2003 and again from 22 June 2004 until his ousting in a vote of no confidence on 19 December 2007.
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41. Biman Prasad
politician
economist
Biman Prasad is a Fijian politician, economist and former Cabinet minister who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from 2022 to 2025. He has led the National Federation Party since 2014.
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42. Teuea Toatu
politician
Teuea Toatu is an I-Kiribati politician who has been the 7th Vice President of Kiribati since 2019, and a member of the House of Assembly and Minister for Finance and Economic Development since 2016. Prior to his tenure in the assembly he worked in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and in other economic positions in Kiribati.
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43. Pōhiva Tuʻiʻonetoa
1951-2023 (aged 72)
politician
certified public accountant
Pōhiva Tu’i’onetoa was a Tongan accountant and politician who served as the prime minister of Tonga from 2019 to 2021. Tu'i'onetoa succeeded Semisi Sika, who had served as acting prime minister, since the death of ʻAkilisi Pōhiva.
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44. David Vunagi
1950-2025 (aged 75)
bishop
Sir David Okete Vuvuiri Vunagi GCMG was a Solomon Islands Anglican bishop who served as governor-general of Solomon Islands from 2019 to 2024. He was the archbishop of Melanesia and bishop of the Diocese of Central Melanesia from 2009 to 2015.
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45. Neil Sharma
1955-. (aged 71)
politician
Neil Prakash Sharma is a Fijian former politician, who served as the Minister for Health in the interim Cabinet formed by Frank Bainimarama between 2009 and 2014.
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