Qoriniasi Babitu Bale is a lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and political leader, who has served twice as Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

's Minister for Justice and Attorney-General

Attorney-General (Fiji)

Fiji's chief governmental legal officer is the Attorney General. According to the Constitution of Fiji, the Attorney-General is required to be a qualified lawyer and sits in the Cabinet. The office of the Attorney-General is the oldest surviving executive office in Fiji, having been established...

, most recently from 2001 to 2006, when he was deposed in the military coup

2006 Fijian coup d'état

The Fijian coup d'état of December 2006 occurred as a continuation of the pressure which had been building since the military unrest of the 2000 Fijian coup d'état and 2005-2006 Fijian political crisis....

 of 5 December. Like many of Fiji's most influential leaders, Bale is a native of Levukana in Vanuabalavu in the Lau Islands

Lau Islands

The Lau Islands of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about one hundred islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited...

.
Bale was educated at Queen Victoria School then University of Otago

University of Otago

The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...

 in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, where he graduated with a LLB degree

Law degree

A Law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers; but while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not themselves confer a license...

 in 1969.