Josette Manin (born 16 March 1950,

Le Lamentin Le Lamentin (; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Lanmanten; ) is a city and town, located in the French overseas department and region of Martinique. With its 62,32 km2, it is the town with the largest area of Martinique. Le Lamentin, with nea ...

) is a French politician on the island of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

. She was the last

President of the General Council of Martinique The President of the General Council of Martinique was the elected head of the General Council, the assembly that governed the assembly governing the overseas department of France. The President of the General Council held executive powers from Mar ...

, from 31 March 2011 to 31 December 2015, and was the representative of

Martinique's 1st constituency The 1st constituency of Martinique is a French legislative constituency in the Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territoria ...

in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

from 2017 to 2022. She was the first woman to be elected President of the General Council and as a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

for Martinique in the French National Assembly. In March 2022, she announced that she would not seek re-election in the

2022 French legislative election Legislative elections in France were held on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 members of the 16th National Assembly of the Fifth French Republic. The elections took place following the 2022 French presidential election, which was held in A ...

Career

In 1983, Manin joined the

Martinican Communist Party The Martinican Communist Party (french: Parti communiste martiniquais) is a political party in the French '' département d'outre-mer'' of Martinique. Georges Erichot is the general secretary of the party. The party was founded in September 1957 a ...

and became a militant under

Georges Gratiant Georges Gratiant, (6 January, 1907-20 June, 1992) was a lawyer and politician from Martinique. He was mayor of Le Lamentin from 1959 to 1989 and president of the General Council from 1946 to 1947. Biography Youth and early activism Geo ...

. She began her political career the same year, being elected as a municipal councilor in Le Lamentin. When she was reelected in 1995, she joined Pierre-Jean Samot, then the mayor of Le Lamentin, in the ''Lamentin Horizon 2001 - développement, solidarité, justice'' project. Three years later, she left the Communist Party and joined Samot's Build the Martinique Country party. In 2001, Manin was elected councilor general in Le Lamentin 3rd Canton Est and assistant mayor of the city.

Presidency of the general council

In March 2011, Manin was selected to be the

President of the General Council In France, the President of the Departmental Council ( French: ''Président du Conseil départemental'') is the locally elected head of the departmental council, the assembly governing a department in France. The position is elected by the depar ...

candidate for the ''Ensemble, pour une Martinique nouvelle'' bloc, composed of the Build the Martinique Country party,

Martinican Progressive Party The Martinican Progressive Party (french: Parti progressiste martiniquais, PPM) is a democratic socialist political party in Martinique. It was founded on March 22, 1958 by poet Aimé Césaire after breaking off from the French Communist Party. Th ...

Franciscan People's Movement , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

Socialist Federation of Martinique Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

, and the''Vivre à Schoelcher'' movement. In the third round of the election process, Manin narrowly defeated Alfred Sinosa, becoming the first female President of the General Council in Martinique, and the second in the Caribbean, to hold the position. She also became the last President, as the French government, in December 2015, merged the regional and general councils for the island into one assembly with the formation of the territorial collective of Martinique.

National Assembly

In the 2017 legislative election, Manin was elected to the

to represent Martinique alongside

Bruno Nestor Azerot Bruno Nestor Azerot (born 22 July 1961 in La Trinité, Martinique La Trinité (; Martinican Creole: ) is a town and commune in the French overseas region and department of Martinique. Geography Climate La Trinité has a tropical rainforest ...

Serge Letchimy Serge Letchimy (; born 13 January 1953) is the President of the Executive Council of Martinique and former member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the island of Martinique's 3rd constituency since June 2007, and is a member of ...

, and

Jean-Philippe Nilor Jean-Philippe Nilor (born 15 May 1965 in Fort-de-France, Martinique) is a French politician who was elected to the French National Assembly on 17 June 2012, representing Martinique's 4th constituency. He was re-elected in the 2022 French legislat ...

. Manin has spoken in the National Assembly about the plight of West Indies Amerindians poisoned by

kepone Chlordecone, better known in the United States under the brand name Kepone, is an organochlorine compound and a colourless solid. It is an obsolete insecticide, now prohibited in the western world, but only after many thousands of tonnes had bee ...

and criticized the French government for cutting jobs in education on Martinique.

Footnotes

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manin, Josette Living people 1950 births 20th-century French women politicians Deputies of the 15th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French people of Martiniquais descent Black French politicians Martiniquais politicians People from Le Lamentin 21st-century French women politicians