[2] He served as vice-president beginning 14 December 2004 to complete the unexpired term of his predecessor, Ratu Jope Seniloli, who had resigned in disgrace on 29 November 2004 in the wake of his convictions for treason concerning his role in the Fiji coup of 2000.
[3] Yet, Madraiwiwi announced in the second week of January 2007 that he was merely "on leave" as Vice-President of Fiji and intended in the meantime to resume private practice as an attorney at Howards law firm.
Owing to his Fijian and Nauruan nationalities, he was nominated as early as 2013, and subsequently appointed in 2014, to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Nauru as its Chief Justice, the highest position in that country's judicial system, which he held until his death on 29 September 2016.
One member of the Great Council of Chiefs explained to the media that they had understood that as President Iloilo is from Burebasaga and his predecessor, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was from Tovata, the current vice-president should be from Kubuna.
Madraiwiwi is noted for his outspoken calls for political and cultural moderation, and for his efforts to encourage people to come up with creative and practical solutions to issues that have caused tension in Fijian society.
He said that most members of his ethnic community did not trust the Constitution or the rule of law sufficiently, as both instruments could be impugned by whatever government was in power – an attitude that needed to be changed.
Madraiwiwi also rejected arguments by some politicians that when the United Kingdom granted independence to Fiji in 1970, they should have handed power back to the chiefs, calling this position legally untenable.
In a message to cadets at Xavier College in Ba on 27 July, Madraiwiwi said that the cycle of blame trapped Fiji islanders into racially polarised politics.
In an earlier address to a Hindu gathering on 28 March, Madraiwiwi had criticised government politicians for couching pronouncements in purely Christian terms.
Madraiwiwi has also said that churches have failed to do enough to confront serious social problems, including rape, incest, and other violent crimes, and has called on Christian leaders to set an example for the people to follow by practising what they preach.
Speaking in the Lau Islands on 12 May 2005, he pointed to the late Lauan chief and former Fijian President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, as a one "who not only went to church but lived the life of a Christian," and called on religious leaders to do likewise.
Later, speaking at the Religion and Governance Forum in Suva on 18 May, he said that there have been cases of churches making unreasonable demands on parishioners in terms of time and natural resources, which have led to "a significant erosion on family values".
On 13 May 2005, Roman Catholic Archbishop Petero Mataca said he agreed that churches had a role to play in reducing crime, but said that they should not be seen as solely to blame for the problem.
"It will be impossible to achieve this if the elders and chiefs have their own way and are too proud of their chiefly status to not bring themselves down to the people," Madraiwiwi told the Lau Provincial Council on 11 May 2005.
At the Fiji Medical Association conference on 1 September, Madraiwiwi said that the days when chiefs, religious ministers, and state officials expected to be treated with deference were gone, and he welcomed the change.
He also called on doctors to adopt a higher public profile, as by virtue of their training, skills, and income level, they held a position that required them to provide leadership to the community.
Opening the conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Nadi on 6 September 2005, he said that Fiji had yet to fully recognise and appreciate the concepts of human rights and the rule of law.
'Its commonality lies in its connection to humanity, in the main it has provided an invariable forum whose members to open and continue meaningful issues of concern."
On 7 July 2005, Madraiwiwi called on his fellow-chiefs to consider how to maximise the effectiveness of income generated through tourist facilities built on natively owned land.
Opening the Tourism Forum at the Sheraton Resort, he said that the annual profit, now more than F$30 million, should be invested to spearhead native Fijian participation in the industry.
He also called on leaders to take a more "bipartisan" approach to national issues, saying that as a small country with limited resources, Fiji could ill afford "endless debates about ethnicity and identity."
The most effective means of doing it is by creating a climate not receptive to corruption," Madraiwiwi said at the launch of the Transparency International Fiji book in Suva on 9 December 2005.
Speaking at the opening of the Fiji Medical Association conference in Suva, he said that while he acknowledged the abhorrence of many great religions towards homosexuality, he thought that what sexual acts people do in private is no business of the state.
Madraiwiwi's comments flew in the face of pressure from the Methodist and other churches, as well as some Hindu and Muslim organisations, to close the loopholes in the law which allowed a Fijian citizen and a foreigner who had been convicted of homosexual acts to walk free in late August.
Speaking at the launch of Fiji Week celebrations on 7 October 2005, Madraiwiwi called on the nation to face up to questions about its fundamental identity.
Madraiwiwi considered, however, that they had shown bravery in their own way, enduring mistreatment "with fortitude and grace" at the hands of their colonial masters, to whom "they had little reason to be grateful."
In a rare display of unity, both Tomasi Vakatora of the predominantly indigenous Grand Coalition Initiative Group and Krishna Datt of the mainly Indo-Fijian Fiji Labour Party both rejected the Vice-President's calls for proportional representation, saying they were satisfied with the present electoral system.
Madraiwiwi also expressed concern about how the high level of Indo-Fijian emigration could create electoral disparity, affecting the election results in marginal open constituencies.
In his opening address to the Pacific Islands Political Studies Association (PIPSA) conference on 24 November 2005, Madraiwiwi described race relations as "a work in progress."
The electoral system, in which almost two-thirds of the seats in the House of Representatives are chosen by voters registered on closed ethnic rolls, further reinforced this divide, he maintained.