Annick Danièle Petrus (born 5 January 1961) is a French

Saint Martinois The Collectivity of Saint Martin (french: Collectivité de Saint-Martin), commonly known as simply Saint Martin (, ), is an overseas collectivity of France in the West Indies in the Caribbean, on – but not identical with – the Saint Martin ...

educator and politician. She has served as the

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the

Collectivity of Saint Martin The Collectivity of Saint Martin (french: Collectivité de Saint-Martin), commonly known as simply Saint Martin (, ), is an overseas collectivity of France in the West Indies in the Caribbean, on – but not identical with – the island of S ...

since October 2020 as a member of the

Union for Democracy Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** Union ...

and The Republicans (LR) parties. Petrus is the first woman to represent Saint Martin's lone seat in the French Senate. Additionally, she has served in the

Territorial Council of Saint Martin The Collectivity of Saint Martin was a French commune for many years and formed part of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas ''région'' and ''département'' of France and is therefore in the European Union. In 2003, the population of the French part ...

since 2017.

Biography

Petrus was born on 5 January 1961 in

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

to a Saint Martinois mother and a Guadeloupean father. She is a native of

, but divided her time between that island and Saint Martin as a child. She received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in educational sciences from the

University of the French West Indies and Guiana The University of the Antilles (), also known in English as the University of the French Antilles, is a French public university, located in the French West Indies. History It was previously part of a larger institution in combination with camp ...

. Petrus has two children, a son and a daughter. In 1990, Petrus permanently moved to Saint Martin to work as a teacher. She later became principal of Emile Larmonie primary school in , Saint Martin. Petrus has served as a

volunteer firefighter A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond t ...

in the mid-2000s, after accompanying her son to his firefighting training in Guadeloupe. Petrus first ran for political office in the

2012 Saint Martin Territorial Council election Territorial Council elections were held in the French overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have ...

, but her political group was largely defeated in the election. Shortly after her loss, Petrus joined the

(UD) party, led by

Daniel Gibbs Daniel Gibbs (born 8 January 1968 in Saint-Martin) is a French Saint-Martinois politician. Political career In 2011, he founded Union for Democracy. He was elected MP to the French National Assembly on 17 June 2012 representing the cons ...

. Annick Petrus was elected to the

on the Union for Democracy ticket in the 2017 general election. She was appointed as the council's third vice president shortly after taking office. In the

2020 French Senate election Senatorial elections were held on 27 September 2020 to pick 172 of the 348 seats in the Senate of the French Fifth Republic. The elections were a modest victory for the centre-right Republicans. The environmentalist Europe Ecology – The Gree ...

, Petrus was nominated for the Senator of Saint Martin seat in the French Senator by the majority UD party. Her opponents included incumbent Senator

Guillaume Arnell Guillaume Arnell (born 19 December 1962) is a member of the Senate of France. He was first elected in 2014, and represents the Saint-Martin Overseas Collectivity The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM ...

of the RDSE group, who was seeking a second term. The island's lone national senator is selected through an

indirect election An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office (direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the old ...

by the Grand Electors of Saint Martin, largely made up of members of the Territorial Council. Petrus failed to secure a majority in the first round on 27 September 2020, receiving only 10 votes, but won the second round with 68.2%. Petrus won 15 votes in the second round, versus five votes for

Marthe Ogoundele-Tessi Marthe may refer to: *Marthe (given name) a feminine given name * ''Marthe'' (novel), an 1876 novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans *''Marthe'', an 1877 play by Georges Ohnet * ''Marthe'' (film), a 1997 film by Gérard Jugnot People with the surname *Willi ...

, and two for outgoing Senator

. Petrus took office on 1 October 2020, becoming the first woman to represent Saint Martin in the French Senate. She sits within the LR parliamentary group.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrus, Annick Living people 1961 births Senators of Saint Martin French Senators of the Fifth Republic Members of the Territorial Council of Saint Martin Saint Martinois educators Saint Martinois politicians Saint Martinois women in politics Union for Democracy (Saint Martin) politicians The Republicans (France) politicians People from Pointe-à-Pitre 21st-century French women politicians Women members of the Senate (France)