Oscar Temaru
Encyclopedia
Oscar Manutahi Temaru is a French Polynesia
n politician. He has been President of French Polynesia
(président de la Polynésie française), a French
dependency with broad powers of self-rule, on five occasions: in 2004, from 2005 to 2006, from 2007 to 2008, in 2009, and again since 1 April 2011.
He is leader of the five party coalition Union For Democracy, which includes his pro-independence party Tavini Huiraatira
(People's Servant Party) and other smaller parties that support autonomy for French Polynesia rather than independence. Those parties unexpectedly defeated supporters of long-time leader Gaston Flosse
in the May 2004 parliamentary elections
.
On October 8, 2004, his government was censured and ousted by the Parliament, the Assembly of French Polynesia
(Assemblée de la Polynésie française) by a vote of 29 to 28. There were calls for the French Government to step in and hold new elections, and allegations by the French Socialist Party that his Government was subject to acts of "methodical destabilisation" on the part of the French government. Gaston Flosse
was re-elected President by the Assembly
in a simple majority vote on October 22. The President of the Assembly, Antony Géros, cast doubt on the legitimacy of this election saying the vote for President (président de la Polynésie française) should occur on October 25 (see French Polynesia political crisis 2004). As a compromise, by-election
s were set for February 13, 2005 for certain seats, which Temaru's coalition won. He was re-elected president (président de la Polynésie française) on March 3, 2005.
Temaru lost a vote of no confidence on 13 December 2006, after months of protests against the high cost of living in French Polynesia. Temaru had lost control of parliament due to defections. Gaston Tong Sang won the presidential election on December 26.
Temaru ran for parliament in the 2007 elections, but failed to win a seat.
On September 14, 2007, Temaru was elected as President of French Polynesia for the third time in three years (with 27 of 44 votes). He replaced Tong Sang, who lost a no-confidence vote on August 31.
On 12 February 2009, he was elected president
yet again. He fell in a vote of no confidence on 25 November 2009, and was again replaced by Tong Sang.
He became President again on 1 April 2011.
It was under Temaru's presidency that French Polynesia became, in November 2011, a founding member of the Polynesian Leaders Group
, a regional grouping intended to cooperate on a variety of issues including culture and language, education, responses to climate change, and trade and investment.
. He was educated in Faa'a and Papeete
, where he received a thorough religious education. He was born to a Tahitian father and a Cook Island Māori mother, and has stated that he also has Chinese ancestry
.
An early political influence was Jean-Marie Tjibaou
, philosopher and former leader of the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), who was assassinated in New Caledonia
in 1989.
Temaru entered the French Navy for three years in 1961 and participated in the Algerian War of Independence
. On his return to French Polynesia
, he sat the exam to become a customs officer in Tahiti. In 1983, he retired from this position.
Temaru has been a vocal campaigner against nuclear testing by France at Moruroa
and Fangataufa
Atolls since the 1970s. His main power base has been in the poor suburb of Faa'a on the outskirts of the capital Papeete.
In 1977, Oscar Temaru formed his political party, the Front for the Liberation of Polynesia (FLP). The party changed its name in 1983 to Tavini Huiraatira
(People's Servant Party). The same year he was elected mayor of Faa'a, which position he continues to hold (as of 2004).
In 1986, Tavini Huiraatira
obtained two seats in the territorial assembly, four seats in 1991, eleven in 1996, and thirteen in 2001. In 2004 the Union for Democracy Coalition won 27 of the 57 seats.
Temaru's coalition government program in 2004 included the gradual increase of the minimum wage to 150.000 Fcfp
, work days that don’t start before 9am, an improvement of social services, political decentralisation, educational reform, and a revision of the new autonomy statute after French Polynesia was declared a French Overseas Country (pays d'outre-mer
) in March 2004.
He pledged there would be no immediate moves to independence
.
When asked by an Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter "Most people call this place French Polynesia. What do you call it?" he replied "This is French-occupied Polynesia. That is the truth. This country has been occupied."
More recently, the Chinese community which controls many businesses in French Polynesia has been targeted in verbal attacks by the newly allied Gaston Flosse
and Oscar Temaru in their political fight against Gaston Tong Sang
, whose Chinese origins they emphasize in contrast with their Polynesian origins, despite the fact that they both have mixed origins (European and Polynesian for Flosse; Polynesian and Chinese for Temaru).
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
n politician. He has been President of French Polynesia
President of French Polynesia
This is the list of Presidents of French Polynesia.-See also:*List of monarchs of Tahiti*Colonial and Departmental Heads of French Polynesia-External links:*...
(président de la Polynésie française), a French
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...
dependency with broad powers of self-rule, on five occasions: in 2004, from 2005 to 2006, from 2007 to 2008, in 2009, and again since 1 April 2011.
Career
He first served as the President of French Polynesia (président de la Polynésie française) from June 15, 2004 until his Government lost a no-confidence motion on October 8, 2004. He was the caretaker President for two weeks after that, but was forced to give up the presidency until March 2005, when he was reelected after parliamentary by-elections.He is leader of the five party coalition Union For Democracy, which includes his pro-independence party Tavini Huiraatira
Tavini Huiraatira
The Tavini Huiraatira is a political party in French Polynesia.The party was founded in 1977 by Oscar Temaru under the name the Front for the Liberation of Polynesia...
(People's Servant Party) and other smaller parties that support autonomy for French Polynesia rather than independence. Those parties unexpectedly defeated supporters of long-time leader Gaston Flosse
Gaston Flosse
Gaston Flosse is a French Polynesian politician who has been President of French Polynesia on four separate occasions. He is currently a member of the Senate of France.-Life and career:...
in the May 2004 parliamentary elections
French Polynesian legislative election, 2004
Elections for the Assembly of French Polynesia, the Territorial Assembly of French Polynesia, were held on May 23, 2004.In a surprise result Oscar Temaru's pro-independence progressive coalition formed Government with a one seat majority in the 57 seat parliament, defeating the conservative party...
.
On October 8, 2004, his government was censured and ousted by the Parliament, the Assembly of French Polynesia
Assembly of French Polynesia
The Assembly of French Polynesia is the unicameral legislature of French Polynesia, located at the Place Tarahoi in Papeete, Tahiti. It consists of 57 members who are elected by popular vote and by proportional representation in 6 multi-seat constituencies. The only official language of the...
(Assemblée de la Polynésie française) by a vote of 29 to 28. There were calls for the French Government to step in and hold new elections, and allegations by the French Socialist Party that his Government was subject to acts of "methodical destabilisation" on the part of the French government. Gaston Flosse
Gaston Flosse
Gaston Flosse is a French Polynesian politician who has been President of French Polynesia on four separate occasions. He is currently a member of the Senate of France.-Life and career:...
was re-elected President by the Assembly
Assembly of French Polynesia
The Assembly of French Polynesia is the unicameral legislature of French Polynesia, located at the Place Tarahoi in Papeete, Tahiti. It consists of 57 members who are elected by popular vote and by proportional representation in 6 multi-seat constituencies. The only official language of the...
in a simple majority vote on October 22. The President of the Assembly, Antony Géros, cast doubt on the legitimacy of this election saying the vote for President (président de la Polynésie française) should occur on October 25 (see French Polynesia political crisis 2004). As a compromise, by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
s were set for February 13, 2005 for certain seats, which Temaru's coalition won. He was re-elected president (président de la Polynésie française) on March 3, 2005.
Temaru lost a vote of no confidence on 13 December 2006, after months of protests against the high cost of living in French Polynesia. Temaru had lost control of parliament due to defections. Gaston Tong Sang won the presidential election on December 26.
Temaru ran for parliament in the 2007 elections, but failed to win a seat.
On September 14, 2007, Temaru was elected as President of French Polynesia for the third time in three years (with 27 of 44 votes). He replaced Tong Sang, who lost a no-confidence vote on August 31.
On 12 February 2009, he was elected president
French Polynesian presidential election, 2009
An indirect presidential election was held in French Polynesia on 11 February 2009, after defections from the ruling pro-autonomy faction and a scheduled constructive vote of no confidence planned for 12 February 2009 caused the incumbent Gaston Tong Sang to step down on 7 February 2009.This...
yet again. He fell in a vote of no confidence on 25 November 2009, and was again replaced by Tong Sang.
He became President again on 1 April 2011.
It was under Temaru's presidency that French Polynesia became, in November 2011, a founding member of the Polynesian Leaders Group
Polynesian Leaders Group
The Polynesian Leaders Group is an international governmental cooperation group bringing together eight independent or self-governing countries or territories in Polynesia....
, a regional grouping intended to cooperate on a variety of issues including culture and language, education, responses to climate change, and trade and investment.
Background
Temaru was born at Faa'a on the island of TahitiTahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. He was educated in Faa'a and Papeete
Papeete
-Sights:* Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.*The waterfront esplanade*Bougainville Park -Sights:* Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.*The waterfront...
, where he received a thorough religious education. He was born to a Tahitian father and a Cook Island Māori mother, and has stated that he also has Chinese ancestry
Overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese birth or descent who live outside the Greater China Area . People of partial Chinese ancestry living outside the Greater China Area may also consider themselves Overseas Chinese....
.
An early political influence was Jean-Marie Tjibaou
Jean-Marie Tjibaou
Jean-Marie Tjibaou was a leader of the Kanak independence movement and a politician in New Caledonia. The son of a tribal chief, Tjibaou was ordained a priest but abandoned his religious vocation for a life in political activism...
, philosopher and former leader of the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), who was assassinated in New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
in 1989.
Temaru entered the French Navy for three years in 1961 and participated in the Algerian War of Independence
Algerian War of Independence
The Algerian War was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria's gaining its independence from France...
. On his return to French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
, he sat the exam to become a customs officer in Tahiti. In 1983, he retired from this position.
Temaru has been a vocal campaigner against nuclear testing by France at Moruroa
Moruroa
Moruroa , also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean...
and Fangataufa
Fangataufa
Fangataufa is a small, low, narrow, coral atoll in the eastern side of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Along with its neighboring atoll, Moruroa, it has been the site of approximately 200 nuclear bomb tests....
Atolls since the 1970s. His main power base has been in the poor suburb of Faa'a on the outskirts of the capital Papeete.
In 1977, Oscar Temaru formed his political party, the Front for the Liberation of Polynesia (FLP). The party changed its name in 1983 to Tavini Huiraatira
Tavini Huiraatira
The Tavini Huiraatira is a political party in French Polynesia.The party was founded in 1977 by Oscar Temaru under the name the Front for the Liberation of Polynesia...
(People's Servant Party). The same year he was elected mayor of Faa'a, which position he continues to hold (as of 2004).
In 1986, Tavini Huiraatira
Tavini Huiraatira
The Tavini Huiraatira is a political party in French Polynesia.The party was founded in 1977 by Oscar Temaru under the name the Front for the Liberation of Polynesia...
obtained two seats in the territorial assembly, four seats in 1991, eleven in 1996, and thirteen in 2001. In 2004 the Union for Democracy Coalition won 27 of the 57 seats.
Temaru's coalition government program in 2004 included the gradual increase of the minimum wage to 150.000 Fcfp
CFP franc
The CFP franc is the currency used in the French overseas collectivities of French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna. The initials CFP originally stood for Colonies Françaises du Pacifique...
, work days that don’t start before 9am, an improvement of social services, political decentralisation, educational reform, and a revision of the new autonomy statute after French Polynesia was declared a French Overseas Country (pays d'outre-mer
Pays d'outre-mer
Overseas country or Overseas land is the new designation for the overseas collectivity of French Polynesia. French Polynesia was formerly an overseas territory until the constitutional reform on 28 March 2003 created the overseas collectivities...
) in March 2004.
He pledged there would be no immediate moves to independence
Independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....
.
When asked by an Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter "Most people call this place French Polynesia. What do you call it?" he replied "This is French-occupied Polynesia. That is the truth. This country has been occupied."
Racist comments controversy
The pro-independence movements in French Polynesia have long pointed the finger at the European community. In 2007, Temaru was found guilty of "racial discrimination" by the criminal court of Papeete for having referred to the Europeans living in French Polynesia as "trash", "waste". Temaru has appealed his conviction for racial discrimination.More recently, the Chinese community which controls many businesses in French Polynesia has been targeted in verbal attacks by the newly allied Gaston Flosse
Gaston Flosse
Gaston Flosse is a French Polynesian politician who has been President of French Polynesia on four separate occasions. He is currently a member of the Senate of France.-Life and career:...
and Oscar Temaru in their political fight against Gaston Tong Sang
Gaston Tong Sang
Gaston Tong Sang is the former President of French Polynesia. He served terms as President of French Polynesia from November 2009 until April 2011, from April 2008 until February 2009 and from December 2006 until September 2007.; he is currently the Mayor of Bora-Bora...
, whose Chinese origins they emphasize in contrast with their Polynesian origins, despite the fact that they both have mixed origins (European and Polynesian for Flosse; Polynesian and Chinese for Temaru).
2007-2008 Presidential Cabinet
Oscar Temaru announced his new presidential cabinet on September 19, 2007, shortly after his election as President of French Polynesia. The sixteen cabinet members include three women.- Vice-President; Minister of Finance, Housing, Lands, Outer Island Development, in charge of the reform of French Polynesia's Statute and of the relations with the Legislative Assembly and the Economic Social and Cultural Council, government spokesman: Antony Géros
- Minister for public utilities, land and maritime transport: James SalmonJames SalmonJames Salmon was a Scottish architect, active chiefly in Glasgow and the west of Scotland.Salmon served his apprenticeship with John Brash, who between 1823 and 1829 designed the houses of Glasgow's Blythswood Square. Salmon would no doubt have been involved with the work...
- Minister for economy, labor, employment and vocational training, Minister for public service: Pierre Frébault
- Minister for education, higher education and research: Jean-Marius Raapoto
- Minister of health, in charge of prevention, food security and traditional medicine: Charles Tetaria
- Minister for agriculture, forestry and livestock: Léon Lichtlé
- Minister for sea, fisheries and aquaculture: Keitapu Maamaatuaiahutapu
- Minister for inter-island maritime and air transports: Dauphin Domingo
- Minister for tourism and air transports: Marc Collins
- Minister for development and environment: Georges Handerson
- Minister for small and medium enterprises, Minister for industry: Gilles Tefaatau
- Minister for posts and telecommunications, culture: Jacqui Drollet
- Minister for the pearl farming sector: Michel Yip
- Minister for solidarity, family affairs and the struggle against social exclusion: Patricia Jennings
- Minister for youth and sports: Tauhiti Nena
- Minister for women's affairs, arts and crafts: Valentina Cross
See also
- Politics of French PolynesiaPolitics of French PolynesiaPolitics of French Polynesia takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic French overseas collectivity, whereby the President of French Polynesia is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government...
- French Polynesian legislative election, 2004French Polynesian legislative election, 2004Elections for the Assembly of French Polynesia, the Territorial Assembly of French Polynesia, were held on May 23, 2004.In a surprise result Oscar Temaru's pro-independence progressive coalition formed Government with a one seat majority in the 57 seat parliament, defeating the conservative party...
- List of political parties in French Polynesia