Ratu Meli Bainimarama was born on September 24, 1945, and died on November 30, 2015.

Ratu was a Fijian civil servant, who served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ministry of Fisheries and Forests.

Prior to this appointment, reported by Fiji Live on 25 May 2006, Ratu was CEO of the Fijian Affairs Ministry.

Some reports in December 2006, however, indicated that he was still in charge of the Fijian Affairs Ministry.

On 13 December 2006, Ratu was also named Acting CEO of the Fijian Affairs Board (FAB) by his younger brother, Military Commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama, who had seized power in a military coup on 5 December.

As Acting CEO of the FAB, Ratu succeeded Adi Litia Qionibaravi, who was dismissed for alleged noncooperation with the military regime.

In his new role, Ratu supervises the workings of the Secretariat of the Great Council of Chiefs and of the fourteen Provinces.

The Fijian Affairs Board officially appointed Bainimarama as its Chief Executive Officer on 20 January 2007, but as part of a reorganization of the civil service by the interim government, Bainimarama was dismissed, along with twenty-two other Chief Executive Officers, on 21 January 2007 after just one day holding the position formally.

Ratu was one of four terminated to be re-employed immediately, as a consultant advising the FAB.

Ratu hails from the village of Kiuva, in the Kaba Peninsula, Tailevu Province.

Ratu Meli Bainimarama passed away at age 77 in November 2015.