Upon returning to Fiji, Mara was elected to the House of Representatives in 1994 and served for a single term. During this time, he held Cabinet office as Minister for Fijian Affairs from 1997 to 1999, during which time he also served as Chairman of the Native Land Trust Board. He also led the Fijian Association Party from 1996 to 1998. In 1999 he was appointed to a diplomatic post, but returned to Fiji in the wake of the coup d'état that deposed his father from the Presidency in 2000. The following year, however, he took up his post as Roving Ambassador and High Commissioner.