Mahendra Pal Chaudhry (
Hindi : महेन्द्र पाल चौधरी ) (born 9 February 1942) is a
Fijian and the leader of the
Fiji Labour Party. Following a historic
election in which he defeated the long-time former leader, Sitiveni Rabuka, the former trade union leader became Fiji's first
Indo-Fijian Prime Minister on 19 May 1999, but exactly one year later, on 19 May 2000 he and most of his
Cabinet were taken hostage by coup leader
George Speight, in the
Fiji coup of 2000. Unable to exercise his duties, he and his ministers were sacked by
President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on 27 May; Mara intended to assume emergency powers himself but was himself deposed by the military leader, Commodore
Frank Bainimarama. After 56 days in captivity, Chaudhry was released on 13 July and subsequently embarked on a tour of the world to rally support. He was one of the leading voices raised in opposition to the
Qarase government's proposed
Reconciliation and Unity Commission, which he said was just a mechanism to grant amnesty to persons guilty of coup-related offences. In January 2007 he was appointed as Minister of Finance, Sugar Reform Public Enterprise and National Planning in the interim Cabinet of
Commodore Frank Bainimarama, following another coup. Chaudhry was also co-chair of the task force focusing on economic growth within the
National Council for Building a Better Fiji. In 2008, he left the government and became an outspoken critic of it.