Minarii Chantal Galenon (born 1956) is an

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

women's rights activist Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

from

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 ...

. She has been an elected member of the French Polynesian Assembly since 2008 and is President of the French Polynesian Women's Council.

Biography

Galenon was born on

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

and grew up in Patutoa in

Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The Communes of France, commune of Papeete is located on the isl ...

. A former primary school teacher, from 2001 to 2008 Galenon served on Papeete Municipal Council. From 2008 she was an elected member of the French Polynesian Assembly representing the a Union for Democracy (UPLD) party. She was previously a supporter of Tahoeraa Huiraatira, but resigned from the party in December 2009. Her resignation meant she stood as an independent candidate, an action that meant that

Gaston Tong Sang Gaston Tong Sang (born August 7, 1949 in Bora Bora) is a French politician and 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 200 ...

lost his majority. In 2011 hers was the

casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...

in the

no confidence motion A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

that ended the presidency of Tong Sang. In 2014 she joined the board of Pu o te Hau - the only women's shelter in the territory. In 2018 she spoke out against the cover designed for the brochure of the Tifaifai International Festival, which featured a naked Polynesian woman. Galenon was quoted as saying: "Nous souhaitons que l’image de la femme polynésienne soit basée sur des valeurs… Non plus considérée comme un objet d’exposition ! Il faut arrêter ce cliché." We want the image of Polynesian women to be based on values… No longer considered as an object of exhibition!"She is President of the French Polynesian Women’s Council. She is also President of the Association Vahine Piri Rava. The organisation works to protect and develop women's rights in the territory, especially in terms of health. In 2021 Galenon appealed to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

on behalf of the people of French Polynesia whose health has been affected by nuclear testing undertaken by the French government between the 1960s and the 1990s. The same year she voted in favour of a compulsory vaccination programme for certain occupations in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galenon, Chantal French Polynesian politicians Living people 1956 births French Polynesian women in politics Tavini Huiraatira politicians Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia