Bainimarama said consultations on a constitution would start in February to replace the one annulled in 2009, at the height of a political crisis over his rule. In 2009, a court ruled that Bainimarama's coup was illegal, but then-president Ratu Josefa...

The Pacific island nation was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2009 over Bainimarama's failure to call elections. Bainimarama has been in power since a bloodless coup in 2006. In 2009, a court ruled the coup illegal, but then president Ratu Josefa...

Bainimarama to step down and restore democracy. The Pacific island nation was suspended from the Commonwealth in 2009 over Bainimarama's failure to call elections. Bainimarama has been in power since a bloodless coup in 2006. In 2009, a court ruled the...

Josefa Iloilo, 91. A Fijian tribal chief who as president made crucial decisions backing the military takeover of the South Pacific country. Feb. 7. Christian J. Lambertson, 93. A scientist and doctor who invented a self-contained underwater breathing...

Feb. 3. J. Paul Getty, 54. The troubled grandson of one of the worlds richest men who lost an ear in a grisly kidnapping in Italy. Feb. 3. Maria Altman, 94. A refugee from Nazi-occupied Austria whose successfully fought to recover Gustav Klimt paintings...

Political figures who died in 2011 included R. Sargent Shriver, Warren M. Christopher, Jiri Dienstbier, Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Geraldine Ferraro, Max van der Stoel, Necmattin Erbakan, Ratu Josefa Iloilo, Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, Leonidas Kyrkos,...