Paul Vergès (5 March 1925 – 11/12 November 2016) was a Réunionese politician. Born in

Ubon Ratchathani Ubon Ratchathani ( th, อุบลราชธานี, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan (with Khorat/ Nakhon Ratchasima, Udon Thani, and Khon Kaen), also known as the "big four of Isan." The city is on the Mun River in the so ...

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

to a French diplomat father and Vietnamese mother. Vergès founded the

Communist Party of Réunion The Communist Party of Réunion (french: Parti Communiste Réunionnais, PCR) is a communist political party in the French overseas department of Réunion (in the Indian Ocean). History PCR was founded in 1959, as the French Communist Party (P ...

in 1960, a party which he led until he retired in 1994. He made a political comeback at the 2005 European Parliament elections, when he was elected as the third candidate on the list of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Un ...

, part of the

European United Left–Nordic Green Left European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

group. Vergès sat 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 ...

Committee on Development The Committee on Development (Commission du développement, DEVE) is a committee of the European Parliament responsible for promoting, implementing and monitoring the development and cooperation policy of the European Union, notably talks with deve ...

. Vergès killed the political opponent of his father, Alexis de Villeneuve, on 25 May 1946. He was condemned for the crime to a sentence of 5 years in prison. Vergès was an MP in the National Assembly of France from 1957 to 1959, from 1987 to 1988 and from 1994 to 1997. He was a Senator in the French Parliament from 1997 to 2005 and again since 2012. From 1980 to 1990 and from 2005 to 2008, he was a member of the

. He was president of the regional council of Réunion from 1999 to 2011, regional councillor since 2011, mayor of Le Port from 1972 to 1990 and general councillor of La Réunion from 1956 to 1968 and again from 1986 to 1999. In the European Parliament, he was also a member of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, a substitute for the

Committee on Regional Development The Committee on Regional Development (REGI) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its current chair, elected on 10 July 2019, is Younous Omarjee Younous Omarjee (born 30 September 1969 in Saint-Denis, Réunion) is a French politician who ...

, vice-chair of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and a substitute for the delegation for relations with the countries of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. Vergès died the night of 11/12 November 2016, at the age of 91. His twin brother was the lawyer

Jacques Vergès Jacques Vergès (5 March 1925 – 15 August 2013) was a Siamese-born French lawyer and anti-colonial activist. Vergès began as a fighter in the French Resistance during World War II, under Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces. After becoming ...

References

External links

European Parliament biography

Declaration of financial interests
(in French; PDF file) {{DEFAULTSORT:Verges, Paul 1925 births 2016 deaths Paul Verges French people of Vietnamese descent French Communist Party politicians Communist Party of Réunion politicians Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fourth Republic Deputies of the 8th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 10th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French Senators of the Fifth Republic Senators of Réunion Presidents of the Regional Council of Réunion Members of the Regional Council of Réunion Communist Party of Réunion MEPs French Communist Party MEPs Mayors of places in Réunion MEPs for the Overseas Territories of France 2004–2009 French twins Paul Verges Members of Parliament for Réunion