Édouard Fritch
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Winfred Édouard Tereori Fritch (born 4 January 1952) is a French Polynesian politician who served as
President of French Polynesia The president of French Polynesia (; ) is the head of government of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The office was first created in 1984. Moetai Brotherson has held the office since 2023. List of pre ...
from 2014 to 2023. He previously presided over the
Assembly of French Polynesia The Assembly of French Polynesia (, ; Tahitian: ''Te apoʻoraʻa rahi o te fenua Māʻohi'') is the unicameral legislature of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. It is located at Place Tarahoi in Papeete, Tahiti. It wa ...
on three occasions: from April 2007 to February 2008, from February 2009 to April 2009 and from May 2013 to September 2014.Le président - Assemblée de la Polynésie française
/ref> Until 2015, Fritch was co-president of Tahoera'a Huiraatira, a pro-French political party, before he became president of the newly established
Tapura Huiraatira ''Tapura'' is a genus of plant in the family Dichapetalaceae.Stephens, P.F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/ , Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Onl ...
. He became a member of the Assembly of French Polynesia in 1986. He was reelected in 1991, 1996, 2001, 2004, 2008 and 2013. He served as a cabinet minister in French Polynesia several times between 1984 and 2011. From 1996 to 2004, from 2004 to 2005, in 2008 and again from 2009 to 2011, he served as Vice President of French Polynesia under his father-in-law Gaston Flosse. From 2000 to 2008, he was Mayor of Pirae, where he succeeded Flosse. He lost the 2008 election, but remained a municipal councillor. He was reelected to the mayorship in
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
.


Career

Born in
Papeete Papeete (Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Papeʻetē'', pronounced ; old name: ''Vaiʻetē''Personal communication with Michael Koch in ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the France, French Republic in the Pacific ...
, Fritch graduated from the École des ingénieurs de la Ville de Paris. He came back from
metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...
in 1980 to work for the commune of Pirae.


2004 French Polynesian legislative election


2008 French Polynesian legislative election

The 2008 French Polynesian legislative election took place on January 27, 2008, and February 10, 2008. The pro-French political of former
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Gaston Tong Sang, O Porinetia To Tatou Ai'a, secured 27 of the 57 seats in the new French Polynesian Assembly. Fritch's Tahoeraa Huiraatira party won 10 seats. Negotiations between Fritch and Tong Sang reportedly broke down earlier in the week of February 17. Tong Sang said that he was prepared to offer Fritch's Tahoeraa Huiraatira party the Speaker of the Assembly, as well as 4 of the 15 ministerial posts, should he form a new government. Fritch refused Tong Sang's offer, saying that he wanted no less than five ministerial positions. However, the two sides finally reached an eleventh-hour deal between Tong Sang's O Porinetia To Tatou Ai'a party and the Tahoeraa Huiraatira to form a new pro-French
coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...
in the Assembly. On Thursday, February 21, 2008, Tong Sang announced that he had offered Fritch's Tahoeraa Huiraatira five ministerial positions, which Fritch had wanted, plus the Speakership of the Assembly and the chairmanships of three parliamentary committees. Fritch was re-elected as the President of the Assembly inaugural sitting of the new 2008 legislative assembly following the political deal. Fritch was re-elected with a total of 36 votes while pro-independence candidate
Antony Géros Antony Daniel Teva Géros (; born 22 July 1956) is a French Polynesian politician and current President of the Assembly of French Polynesia. He has previously served as a Cabinet Minister, and three times as Vice-President of French Polynesia. Si ...
came in second with 21 votes. He served as Speaker for only two months under Gaston Flosse in 2008 until Gaston Tong Sang was elected president in April 2008.


2009 French Polynesian presidential election

Fritch stood as a candidate for
President of French Polynesia The president of French Polynesia (; ) is the head of government of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The office was first created in 1984. Moetai Brotherson has held the office since 2023. List of pre ...
for the Tahoera'a Huiraatira party in the 2009 French Polynesian presidential election. However, he failed to garner enough votes, coming in third place to Oscar Temaru. Fritch was once again elected as the President of the Assembly of French Polynesia on February 12, 2009. His election as Speaker was part of the coalition agreement which allowed Oscar Temaru to be elected president the day before. Fritch was elected with the support of 38 of the 57 members of the Assembly. On April 9, 2009, a second election was held for President of the Assembly following a reshuffling of the government. Former President Gaston Tong Sang had moved to join the ruling coalition of President Oscar Temaru. Fritch initially resisted calls for a new election, saying that his position was necessary for the current April 9 Assembly session. However, a new election was held following
legal advice Legal advice is the giving of a professional or formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law in relation to a particular factual situation. The provision of legal advice will often involve analyzing a set of facts and advising a p ...
from the French Council of State in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Fritch was defeated by Philip Schyle in the election on Thursday morning, April 9, 2009. Schyle, a member of the O Porinetia To Tatou Ai'a, received 40 votes, while Fritch garnered obtained just 14 votes. One Assembly member did not vote and there were two blank
ballot A ballot is a device used to cast votes in an election and may be found as a piece of paper or a small ball used in voting. It was originally a small ball (see blackballing) used to record decisions made by voters in Italy around the 16th cent ...
s. Schyle immediately became the new Speaker. In a speech following his ouster as president, Fritch expressed "disappointment" that the UPLD-Tahoeraa
political alliance A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...
was in trouble. He called the timing of the election unfortunate "in a time of economic crisis." He also accused the new alliance between President Temaru and former President Gaston Tong Sang as being inspired by French President
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
. On 1 March 2011 he was sacked as
vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
from the Cabinet of Gaston Tong Sang for failing to support the budget.


2012 French legislative election

Fritch was elected on 16 June 2012 as member of the
National Assembly of France The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...
in the 1st constituency of French Polynesia. He seated in the Union for Democrats and Independents group in the National Assembly, chaired by former minister
Jean-Louis Borloo Jean-Louis Marie Borloo (; born 7 April 1951) is a French politician who served as president of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) from 2012 to 2014. He also was Minister of the Economy, Finance and Employment in 2007 and Minister of ...
. He resigned in April 2014 because of a new law preventing cumulative mandates.


2013 French Polynesian legislative election


2014 French Polynesian presidential election


2018 French Polynesian presidential election

He was re-elected to the Assembly in the 2023 election.


Honours and decorations


Territorial honours


See also

*
President of French Polynesia The president of French Polynesia (; ) is the head of government of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The office was first created in 1984. Moetai Brotherson has held the office since 2023. List of pre ...
*
Assembly of French Polynesia The Assembly of French Polynesia (, ; Tahitian: ''Te apoʻoraʻa rahi o te fenua Māʻohi'') is the unicameral legislature of French Polynesia, an overseas country of the French Republic. It is located at Place Tarahoi in Papeete, Tahiti. It wa ...
*
Tapura Huiraatira ''Tapura'' is a genus of plant in the family Dichapetalaceae.Stephens, P.F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/APweb/ , Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Onl ...
*
Order of Tahiti Nui The Order of Tahiti Nui was established on 5 June 1996 by the Assembly of French Polynesia to reward distinguished merit and achievements in the service to French Polynesia. History The Order of Tahiti Nui was established June 5, 1996 by resolut ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritch, Edouard 1952 births Living people Presidents of French Polynesia Vice presidents of French Polynesia Speakers of the Assembly of French Polynesia Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia French engineers Tahoera'a Huiraatira politicians People from Papeete Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of French Polynesia