Speight, George (1956– )

Fijian industrialist and militia leader. He deposed the country's first ethnic Indian prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, in a coup in May 2000. With armed supporters he held 27 members of the parliament, including Chaudhry, as hostages until July 2000. The coup achieved some of its goals, but was hijacked by the military. A government dominated by indigenous Fijians was installed, but Speight was arrested in July 2000 by the new military-backed government and, in August 2000, charged with treason.

Speight returned to Fiji in 1996, after working and studying in Australia. He became chair of the state-owned Fijian Hardwood Corporation, responsible for Fiji's valuable mahogany reserves, but was sacked in 1999 by Chaudhry amid allegations of financial abuse. The coup was launched to defend the political and land rights of the 51% majority community of indigenous Fijians against the allegedly disproportionate influence of the 44% minority community of ethnic Indians.

He is the son of Sam Speight, a legislator for the nationalist Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei (SVT, in English the Fijian Political Party), who was a senior member of the government of coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka which lost power in 1999.