Antony Daniel Teva Géros (born 22 July 1956) is a French Polynesian politician and former Cabinet Minister. He has served as vice-president of French Polynesia three times, and as President of the

Assembly of French Polynesia The Assembly of French Polynesia (french: Assemblée de la Polynésie française, Tahitian: Te apo'ora'a rahi o te fenua Mā'ohi) is the unicameral legislature of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. It is located at Plac ...

twice. Since 2020 he has served as Mayor of Paea. He is a member of pro-independence party Tavini Huiraatira.

Early life

Géros was born in Papeete and worked as secretary of the town of

Faaa Faaā (also Faaa or Faaʻā; ) is a commune in the suburbs of Papeete in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. Faaā is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands,< ...

before entering politics. He joined the pro-independence Tavini Huiraatira party in 1986, and has served on the municipal council of Paea since 1995. He first entered the

in November 1999 as a replacement for Alexandre Léontieff, who had been convicted of corruption. He was re-elected at the 2001 election.

President of the Assembly of French Polynesia

Géros was elected as President of the Assembly following the 2004 French Polynesian legislative election, winning by a single vote over Emile Vernaudun. Following his election he controversially installed a crucifix in the Assembly, resulting in the Greens leaving the Union for Democracy coalition. The crucifix was removed by President

Oscar Temaru Oscar Manutahi Temaru (born November 1, 1944) is a French politician. He has been President of French Polynesia (''président de la Polynésie française''), an overseas collectivity of France, on five occasions: in 2004, from 2005 to 2006, from ...

in September 2004. he was replaced by his deputy Hirohiti Tefaarere after the French

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

annulled the 2004 election in November 2004. He was re-elected to the Assembly in the resulting by-elections, and re-elected as President of the Assembly in the second round of voting. He was replaced by

Philip Schyle Philip Schyle (born 15 September 1962 Nouméa, New Caledonia) is a French Polynesian politician and a member of the O Porinetia To Tatou Ai'a political party. He is also president of the Fetia Api political party. Schyle was twice the President ...

at the end of his one-year term in 2006, losing by a single vote.

Cabinet Minister

Following Oscar Temaru's re-election as

President of French Polynesia , flag = , flagsize = , flagcaption = , insignia = Coat of arms of French Polynesia.svg , insigniasize = , insigniacaption = Coat of arms of French ...

in September 2007 Géros joined his cabinet as Vice-President and Minister of Finance. In December 2007 his budget failed to pass the Assembly. He ran again for Assembly President following the

2008 French Polynesian legislative election Early legislative elections were held in French Polynesia in early 2008. The first round was held on 27 January, with the second round on 10 February. The early elections was the first one to be conducted under a reformed electoral system. Back ...

, but lost to

Édouard Fritch Winfred Édouard Tereori Fritch (born 4 January 1952) is a French politician who has served as President of French Polynesia since 2014. He previously presided over the Assembly of French Polynesia on three occasions: from April 2007 to February ...

. Two days later a power-sharing agreement with Tahoeraa Huiraatira saw

Gaston Flosse Gaston Flosse (born 24 June 1931) is a French politician who has been President of French Polynesia on five separate occasions. He is currently a member of the Senate of France and has been a French junior minister under Jacques Chirac. He receiv ...

re-elected as President, with Géros joining his cabinet as Lands Minister. He resigned as a Minister in April 2008 after Flosse lost a confidence vote in the Assembly, returning to the Assembly in July 2008. He served as vice-President in Temaru's fourth government from February to November 2009, and again in Temaru's fifth government from April 2011 to May 2013. In September 2012 he replaced Pierre Frébault as Minister of Finance in a cabinet reshuffle. He was re-elected to the Assembly at the 2013 election, and was the Union For Democracy's candidate for President. Following the unseating of

for corruption in September 2014 he again stood unsuccessfully for Assembly President, losing to Marcel Tuihani. He was re-elected again at the 2018 election. Following the unseating of Oscar Temaru for breaching election campaign rules, he became leader of the Tavini Huiraatira in the Assembly. He later criticised the French courts for being manipulated by the government and punishing Temaru for seeking justice for French Polynesia before the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...

. In June 2020 he was elected mayor of Paea. In November 2020 he was elected President of the Superior Council of Municipal Civil Service.

Political views

Géros supported the restoration of French Polynesia to the

United Nations list of non-self-governing territories Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter defines a non-self-governing territory (NSGT) as a territory "whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government". In practice, an NSGT is a territory deemed by the United Nations Gene ...

, and supports French Polynesian independence as a way of recognising the rights of the

Maohi :''"Maohi" can also refer to the indigenous people of French Polynesia, also known as Tahitians.'' In Tahiti and adjacent islands, the term Maohi (''Mā’ohi'' in Tahitian language) refers to the ancestors of the Polynesian peoples. The term can ...

people. he has repeatedly criticised France's refusal to engage with the United nations

decolonization Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...

process. In 2010 he described French nuclear weapons testing at

Moruroa Moruroa (Mururoa, Mururura), also historically known as Aopuni, is an atoll which forms part of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is located about southeast of Tahiti. Administratively Moruroa Atoll ...

as a crime against the people of Polynesia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Géros, Antony Daniel Teva Living people 1956 births People from Papeete French Polynesian Roman Catholics Mayors of places in French Polynesia Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia Speakers of the Assembly of French Polynesia Government ministers of French Polynesia Finance Ministers of French Polynesia Tavini Huiraatira politicians