Pierre Maresca (30 July 1941 – 22 August 2020) was a French politician and journalist in New Caledonia.

Biography

Maresca was born in Algiers to a family of

Pied-Noir The ''Pieds-Noirs'' (; ; ''Pied-Noir''), are the people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French rule from 1830 to 1962; the vast majority of whom departed for mainland France as soon as Alger ...

origin. He moved to New Caledonia in January 1963, a few months after

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

's independence. He spent ten years as a civil servant before becoming a journalist. He heavily researched New Caledonia's history and published ''Les Nuits du Bagne calédonien'' in 1975. In 1977, Maresca joined the

Rally for Caledonia in the Republic The Rally (french: Le Rassemblement; until 2004 Rally for Caledonia in the Republic, french: Rassemblement pour une Calédonie dans la République; from 2004 to 2014 Rally–UMP) is a conservative political party in New Caledonia, strongly suppo ...

(RPCR) party in New Caledonia, a large anti-independence party founded by

Jacques Lafleur Jacques Lafleur (20 November 1932 – 4 December 2010) was a French politician born in Nouméa, New Caledonia, France. Lafleur was a leader of one of the two anti-independence parties in New Caledonia, the RPCR (Rally for Caledonia in the Repub ...

. He was elected as a municipal councillor in

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and ...

within the same list as outgoing mayor Roger Laroque. In 1979, after a new statute granting more powers to the Governmental Council of New Caledonia was passed, he was elected as an executive member of the council led by

Dick Ukeiwé Dick Ukeiwé (13 December 1928 – 3 September 2013) was a New Caledonian politician. Born in Lifou, France, he represented the island in the French Senate from 1983 until 1992, and was a member of the Rally for the Republic The Rally for the ...

. He served as Minister of Health, Public Works, Transportation, Urban Planning and Housing, and the Postal Service at different times. He also led

Air Calédonie Société Calédonienne de Transports Aériens, trading as Air Calédonie, is the domestic airline of the French collectivity of New Caledonia. Its headquarters are on the grounds of Magenta Airport in the territory's capital of Nouméa, from ...

. However, in June 1982, the Governmental Council's powers fell following a movement by separatists and former allies of the RPCR. The elections of 1984 were boycotted by the

Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front The Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (french: Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialiste, FLNKS) is a pro-independence alliance of political parties in New Caledonia. It was founded in 1984 at a congress of various politica ...

, a separatist party, led to a huge majority for the RPCR in the Territorial Assembly. Dick Ukeiwé became President of the territory, and appointed Maresca as Minister of Health and Social Affairs. In 1985, a territorial congress replaced the territorial assembly following an agreement between the loyalists and the separatists. Maresca was elected as a councillor to the southern region and became a member of Congress. He was re-elected on 24 April 1988. Following the Matignon Agreements of 1988, Maresca was elected as Councillor for the South Province, serving until 2009. He also served as a Municipal Councillor in Nouméa from 1977 to 1995, and again from 2001 to 2008. Pierre Maresca died on 22 August 2020 at the age of 79.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maresca, Pierre 1941 births 2020 deaths Members of the Congress of New Caledonia Government ministers of New Caledonia The Rally (New Caledonia) politicians New Caledonian journalists New Caledonia politicians Pieds-Noirs 20th-century French politicians 21st-century French politicians People from Algiers