Former permanent secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture Mason Smith has given credited to his upbringing and the support of his family.
He was one of the recipients of the 50th Anniversary of Independence Commemorative Medal presented by President Jioji Konrote.
Mr Smith is the acting regional director for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Oceania.
He served in various capacities in the private sector, Government, including a stint as Fiji’s acting head of Mission at the United Nations in New York and as permanent secretary for the Ministry of Agriculture.
He is heavily involved with raising awareness and funds to treat prostate cancer in Fiji.
He is married to Vani Vulavou Smith and has three daughters and two sons.
He joined the Republic of the Fiji Military Forces as a cadet officer and in 2007 he was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later became permanent secretary for agriculture in 2009.
“I am honoured, humbled to be given this medal of recognition by the President for my service to the country.
“I dedicate this to my parents who have passed on, my wife and children.
“It has been a wonderful journey and I look forward to serve Fiji. For me the upbringing at home, our parents not only brought us up to be independent, but to work hard and persevere.
“I think that was the main message to us, you got a good education, you work hard, be honest and you know the sky is the limit.”
He said joining the army was one of the best decisions he has ever made.
“The army changed me for the good. I guess as a teenager I was rowdy, but the army taught me discipline and to respect time. It taught me about honesty in my work and maintaining a very high standard.
“Not only did we focus on discipline, but also our work ethics.
“It has given me quite a lot and for me my message is study hard, be honest, treat each other as fellow human beings no matter what background we come from, we are all Fijians.”
He is a graduate of the University of Canberra and holds a masters in management of defence studies and a post-graduate in Diplomacy from the University of Fiji.
