Nicole Bouteau (born 1969) is 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 is 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 ...

and a former Minister of Tourism.

Education

Bouteau has a masters degree from the

University of French Polynesia The University of French Polynesia (french: Université de la Polynésie française) is a French university located in Puna'auia, French Polynesia. History Created by a decree of May 29, 1987, the university was originally called French Pac ...

Political career

Bouteau is a member of the

, representing 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 SeaNorth ...

(''Iles du vent'') in 2003-2008 and since May 2013. She is a member of the

Tapura Huiraatira ''Tapura'' is a genus of plant in family Dichapetalaceae.Stephens, P.F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/ Species include: * ''Tapura africana'' Oliv. * ''Tapura arach ...

party but has previously been a member of Rassemblement pour une majorité autonomiste and . In April 2003 she founded the

No Oe E Te Nunaa The No Oe E Te Nunaa ( en, This Country is Yours) is a political party in French Polynesia. The party was established in April 2003 by former tourism minister Nicole Bouteau. The party supports autonomy for French Polynesia. The party won six perce ...

party. At the 2004 election president

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 ...

lost his majority, and Bouteau sided with pro-independence leader

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 collapse of Temaru's government she united with

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 ...

to contest the

by-elections as the Alliance for a New Democracy (ADN). As ADN leader she voted to topple Flosse's government, but abstained on the presidential vote which followed. In August 2006 she was forced to vacate her seat in the Assembly due to election funding irregularities. Following her disqualification she ran for the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

, but was unsuccessful. She subsequently contested the 2008 election as the leader of ''No Oe E Te Nunaa''. The party was the only party to cross the 5% threshold in the first round of voting, but refused to form an alliance for the second round, and failed to win any seats. In 2009 she ran for a seat in the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. She held the position of

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Minist ...

in 2001-2002 and 2017-2021 (''Ministre du Tourisme et de l’Artisanat traditionnel'' March-May 2001; ''Ministre du Tourisme, de l’Environnement et de la Condition féminine'', March 2001-April 2002; ''Ministre du Tourisme, des Transports internationaux, chargée des Relations avec les institutions'', January 2017-May 2018; ''Ministre du tourisme, du travail en charge des transports internationaux et des relations avec les institutions'', May 2018-November 2021. She resigned in November 2021 in protest after Tearii Alpha, a minister opposing government policy on Covid vaccination, was allowed to stay in the government. She is also a member of the municipal council for the commune of

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 ...

, the capital city of French Polynesia, elected most recently in June 2020. 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 ...

, she contested

French Polynesia's 1st constituency The 1st constituency of French Polynesia is a French legislative constituency in French Polynesia. Following the 2010 redistricting of French legislative constituencies, which came into application for the June 2012 legislative election, the ...

but lost to Tematai Le Gayic. In September 2022 she joined

Teva Rohfritsch Teva Rohfritsch (born 3 February 1975) is a French Polynesian politician and former Cabinet Minister. Since 2020 he has been one of French Polynesia's two senators in the French Senate, sitting with the Rally of Democrats, Progressives and Indepe ...

and

in resigning from Tapura Huiraatira, citing disappointment with Edouard Fritch's government.

References

External links

Nicole Bouteau archive
on

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouteau, Nicole 1969 births Living people French Polynesian women in politics Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia Government ministers of French Polynesia Environment ministers of French Polynesia Labour ministers of French Polynesia Tourism ministers of French Polynesia Tapura Huiraatira politicians University of French Polynesia alumni Candidates for the 2022 French legislative election