Minister for Education, Aseri Radrodro has expressed his condolences to Fiji's first-ever female Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Dr Mereia Taufa Vakatale.

The Minister says as we bid farewell to a remarkable leader, we need to remember her immense contributions to our country's growth and development.

Dr Vakatale is the first indigenous woman appointed as a Deputy High Commissioner and the first Fijian woman to serve as a Secondary School principal.

She hailed from Yavu, Batiki in Lomaiviti and has served in the Cabinet of Fiji under the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei during 1993–1995 and 1997–1999.