Fiji’s first Auditor-General has died in Wellington, aged 85.
Tamesar Bhim, Fiji's first local Auditor General, was appointed to the post in 1970, the year of Independence, and held the position until 1983 when he retired from the public service.
In addition, Mr Bhim served on several boards and committees.
These included the Tax Agents Board, Fiji Institute of Accountants, FIT's board of governors, Fiji Scout Council, Transport Control Board and the University Grants Committee.
Mr Bhim was born in Navua in 1925. His father, Pundit Sundar Maharaj, was from India.
He attended Samabula Government School, Marist Brothers High School and later Auckland and Victoria universities and qualified as an accountant.
Mr Bhim was a Fellow of the NZ Society of Accountants, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, a Chartered Account, Fiji and member of the Fiji Institute of Accountants. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1978 and commissioned a Justice of the Peace in 1980.
Mr Bhim is survived by his widow, four children and several grand children.