Fijian tribal chief R.J. Iloilo dies

SUVA, Fiji - Ratu Josefa Iloilo, a Fijian tribal chief who as president made crucial decisions backing the military takeover of the South Pacific country, has died at age 91.

The government is honoring Iloilo with a full state funeral today, and national flags on all government buildings will stay at half staff until the funeral ends. He had a heart condition, and the government said he died Feb. 7 at Suva Private Hospital.

A traditional high chief and former teacher, Iloilo became a key ally of armed forces chief Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who overthrew the elected government in a December 2006 coup amid rising tensions between indigenous Fijians and the country's large ethnic Indian minority.

Bainimarama seized the president's powers in the coup, but returned them within days to Iloilo, who then swore in the armed forces chief as prime minister and his appointees as the cabinet, giving the regime a veneer of legitimacy.

Iloilo stood down as president last year and was replaced by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, a former armed forces commander.- AP