Maurice Ponga is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament

Member of the European Parliament

A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...

 elected in the 2009 European election

European Parliament election, 2009 (France)

European elections to elect 72 French Members of the European Parliament were held on Sunday 7 June 2009.Due to the entry of Romania and Bulgaria in the European Union in 2007, the number of seats allocated to France was revised from 78 seats to 72 seats, a loss of 6 seats...

 for the Overseas

Overseas Territories of France (European Parliament constituency)

In European elections, Overseas Territories of France is a constituency of the European Parliament. It consists of the French overseas departments and territories.-2009:-2004:-External links:*...

 constituency.

Ponga is a Melanesian (Kanak), but unlike most Kanaks, he opposes New Caledonia's independence from France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and is a member of The Rally-UMP, a major anti-independence party. He has represented the party, known as RPCR until 2002, in the Congress of New Caledonia between 1995 and 2009. While in office, he participated in all but one New Caledonian government. Most recently, as Minister of Youth and Sports in the Martin II

Harold Martin

Harold Martin may refer to:* Harold Martin , VFL player and VFA coach* Harold Martin , Member of the New Jersey General Assembly* Harold Martin , politician of New Caledonia...

 government, he played a major role in the success of Noumea

Nouméa

Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...

's bid for the 2011 Pacific Games.

In the 2009 European elections, he was the UMP's candidate in the Pacific Section of the Overseas constituency, and his candidacy was locally supported by all anti-independence parties. The UMP won one seat in the constituency with 29.7% of the votes, and since the UMP obtained its highest result in the Pacific Section (44.4%), Ponga was elected to the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

. He is the second New Caledonian and second Kanak to serve as an MEP, after Dick Ukeiwé

Dick Ukeiwé

Dick Ukeiwé is a New Caledonian politician. He represented the island in the Senate of France from 1983 until 1992, and is a member of the Rally for the Republic. His son, Bernard Ukeiwé, also became a politician in New Caledonia.-References:...

 (also a member of the RPCR), who served between 1989 and 1994.