Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum (born 24 September 1965) is an Fijian politician and a former cabinet minister. He was the Fijian attorney general and the Minister for Economy, Civil Service and Communications, and also served as the minister responsible for climate change under the FijiFirst government. He is the third-highest polling candidate from the Fijian general elections of 2014 and 2018. Prior to his appointment as a cabinet minister following FijiFirst's general election victory in September 2014, Sayed-Khaiyum was the Fijian attorney general and the Minister for Justice, Anti-Corruption, Public Enterprises, Communications, Civil Aviation, and the Minister responsible for Elections under the Bainimarama Government. According to The Economist, the daily functioning of the Fijian government is run by Sayed-Khaiyum. The South China Morning Post describes Khaiyum as one of the South Pacific's most powerful men. Sayed-Khaiyum is the General Secretary of the FijiFirst party. He also serves as the Fijian Governor in the Asian Development Bank, and has been the ADB Chair of the Board of Governors since 2018. Following Frank Bainimarama's recovery from heart surgery in January 2022, Sayed-Khaiyum was named Acting Prime Minister. Early life and education Sayed-Khaiyum was born and raised in Suva and was educated at Marist Brothers High School. He has a master's degree in law from the University of Hong Kong, a bachelor's degree in law from the University of New South Wales, a graduate diploma in legal practice from the University of Wollongong, and a bachelor's degree in political science from the Australian National University. He was a former senior legal officer in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Sayed-Khaiyum was the General Manager of Legal and Compliance and was the Company Secretary in the Colonial Group of Companies for five years immediately prior to his appointment in the Interim Government by the President of Fiji. He also worked with the law firm of Minter Ellison in Sydney. He was on the board of Transparency International Fiji and has been President of the Fiji Young Lawyers Association. Political career Sayed-Khaiyum was appointed to the interim government of Frank Bainimarama after the 2006 Fijian coup d'état as Interim Attorney-General and Justice Minister. The 2006 coup has been described by some political historians as a final intervention intended to unite the country and forever put an end to the nation's spate of ethno-nationalist military takeovers. When Bainimarama formed the FijiFirst Party, Sayed-Khaiyum was appointed its