Mereseini Rakuita is a visionary champion of gender equality and women’s rights in Fiji and the wider Asia-Pacific region. She currently serves as the Principal Strategic Lead - Pacific Women and Girls and leads the Gender Equality Flagship at the Pacific Community (SPC), where she is driving transformative institutional and regional efforts to ensure that all Pacific women and girls, in all their diversity, are safe and equitably share in resources, opportunities, and decision-making.
A qualified lawyer, Mereseini made history as Fiji’s first female State Solicitor and later became the youngest woman elected to Parliament in 2014. She went on to serve as the first-ever female Minister for Lands and Mineral Resources, followed by role as Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation. Her leadership in government was marked by the advancement of gender policies and strengthening of child protection systems.
Her advocacy is deeply rooted in her lived experiences as a Fijian woman and mother. Following her ministerial service, Mereseini was appointed Global Chair of the Family Planning (FP) 2030 governing board. She has chaired major regional and global forums, including the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Beijing+25 and the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development.
Through every chapter of her career, Mereseini Rakuita has remained committed to creating inclusive, resilient, and equitable societies across the Pacific and beyond.
