Céline Oopa was a

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

n politician. She was elected to the

Territorial Assembly A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

in 1961, becoming its first female member.

Biography

Oopa's husband Tautu was elected to the Territorial Assembly in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...

and was re-elected in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

. After his death in 1961, Céline contested the by-election on 8 October and was elected to the Assembly, becoming its first female member. She was re-elected in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...

as a member of the

Democratic Rally of the Tahitian People The Democratic Rally of the Tahitian People (french: Rassemblement démocratique des populations tahitiennes, abbreviated RDPT) was a political party in French Oceania/French Polynesia. The party was led by Pouvanaa a Oopa. Political profile Pouv ...

(RDPT). When the RDPT was dissolved in 1963, she was prevented from joining its successor,

Here Ai'a Here Ai’a ( en, Love of the Land), also known as Te Pupu Here Ai'a Te Nunaa ia Ora ( en, Patriotic Group for an Autonomous Polity), is a pro-independence political party in French Polynesia. It was founded by John Teariki and Henri Bouvier in 1 ...

. She remained a member of the Assembly until the

1967 elections Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

.Strong vote for autonomy in French Polynesia
Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1967, p25

References

Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia French Polynesian women in politics Democratic Rally of the Tahitian People politicians {{FrenchPolynesia-politician-stub