Moetai Charles Brotherson (born 22 October 1969) is a French Polynesian politician who has served as

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

since 12 May 2023. He had previously represented French Polynesia's 3rd constituency in the French National Assembly from the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

. A member of Tāvini Huiraʻatira, he had also served as a member 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 ...

from

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

. Brotherson has been deputy leader of Tāvini Huiraʻatira since 2017 under the leadership of former President of French Polynesia

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 ...

. Following the

2023 French Polynesian legislative election Elections to the Assembly of French Polynesia are scheduled to be held in 2023 in order to elect 57 representatives to the Assembly of French Polynesia. The last election was in 2018. Background The 2018 French Polynesian legislative election ...

, Brotherson was elected President of French Polynesia by the

. He supports French Polynesia peacefully gaining independence from France through a local referendum possibly to be held in the 2030s. He is best known for his calm demeanour, representing his party's moderate wing.

Early life

A native of Papeete, partly of Danish origin by his father, Brotherson grew up in

Punaauia Punaauia is a commune in the suburbs of Papeete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Punaauia is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, themselves part o ...

, Tahiti. He has biological and adoptive Tahitian parents. His biological parents lived in

Huahine Huahine is an island located among the Society Islands, in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Leeward Islands group ''(Îles sous le Vent).'' At the 2017 census it had a population of 6,075. ...

."Moetai Brotherson : "C’est la faute de l’école si je suis devenu indépendantiste"
(in French), la1ere.francetvinfo.fr, 15 December 2020. Brotherson graduated from the École internationale des sciences du traitement de l'information in 1990 with a master's degree in computer science. He then worked in France, Japan, Germany and the United States before returning to Tahiti after the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. He had an appointment with Siemens in the Twin Towers on the day of the attacks. In 2007 he published a novel, ''Le Roi absent'' ("The Absent King"). In 2010 he participated in the '' O Tahiti Nui Freedom'' expedition, which sailed a single-hulled Polynesian outrigger canoe from Tahiti to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

Political career

After returning to

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 Austra ...

, Brotherson worked as an advisor in the office of local politician Émile Vernaudon. He was head of the Post and Telecommunications department from 2005 to 2008, then chief of staff to Vice President of French Polynesia Antony Géros from 2011 to 2013. He later worked as opposition spokesperson. He was elected as a municipal councillor 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,< ...

in the 2008 election, a position he held until 2020 under Mayor

. In 2014 he became a deputy mayor, a position he held until 2017. Brotherson was elected to the French National Assembly in the 2017 legislative election, becoming the first Tāvini Huiraʻatira politician to serve in such a role. Despite trailing the Tāpura Huiraʻatira candidate in the first round, he won with 52.5% of the vote in the second round. As a deputy, he became a member of the

Democratic and Republican Left group The Democratic and Republican Left group (french: groupe de la Gauche démocrate et républicaine or GDR) is a parliamentary group in the National Assembly including representatives of the French Communist Party (PCF) as well as leftist parties w ...

. In his first appearance at the

Palais Bourbon The Palais Bourbon () is the meeting place of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Parliament. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, on the '' Rive Gauche'' of the Seine, across from the Place de la Con ...

, he wore traditional Polynesian

lavalava A lavalava, also known as an ''ie'', short for 'ie lavalava, is an article of daily clothing traditionally worn by Polynesians and other Oceanic peoples. It consists of a single rectangular cloth worn similarly to a wraparound skirt or kilt. The ...

clothing. He unsuccessfully promoted a bill seeking lifetime disqualification from office for politicians convicted of corruption and advocated for French Polynesian independence. He also called on the Government of France to clean up its nuclear weapons test site 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 ...

and to compensate test victims. He was subsequently elected to the

for the

Windward Islands french: Îles du Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Windward Islands. Clockwise: Dominica, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean Sea No ...

in the

2018 French Polynesian legislative election Legislative elections were held in French Polynesia on 22 April and 6 May 2018. On 22 April 2018, voters cast their ballots in the first round of the election to the Assembly of French Polynesia. A second round was held on 6 May 2018 for the thr ...

. Brotherson was re-elected to the French National Assembly in the 2022 legislative election with 61.3% of the second-round vote under the New Ecological and Social People's Union (NUPES) alliance. On 10 March 2023 Tāvini Huiraʻatira announced that Brotherson would be their candidate for the presidency following the

. Tāvini Huiraʻatira was the largest party in the election; he was successfully re-elected to the Assembly. On 12 May 2023 he was elected President of French Polynesia, defeating outgoing President

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 ...

38 votes to 16, with 3 votes for Nicole Sanquer. He appointed his

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

the following 15 May, tasking himself with tourism, international air transport, territories equality, international affairs, archipelagos development, the digital economy and the consequences of nuclear tests. Brotherson appointed Eliane Tevahitua as the first female Vice President of French Polynesia in history. He resigned from the French National Assembly, where he was succeeded by his substitute Mereana Reid Arbelot. In interviews after his election, Brotherson stated his support for an independence referendum, but estimated the timetable could take up to 10–15 years. He stated that the first step was to define the electorate eligible to vote in the referendum. In the meantime, he assured France of his "respect" for the established order. On 7 June 2023, he met President of France Emmanuel Macron for the first time as President of French Polynesia. He called himself a "a courteous, but very determined man".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brotherson, Moetai 1969 births Living people People from Papeete Presidents of French Polynesia Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia Deputies of the 15th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 16th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French Polynesian civil servants French Polynesian writers Tavini Huiraatira politicians Independence activists French computer programmers