Antony Daniel Teva Géros (; born 22 July 1956) is a

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

n politician and current President of 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 ...

. He has previously served as a

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

, and three times as

Vice-President of French Polynesia Vice-President of French Polynesia ( French: ''Vice-présidente de la Polynésie française'') is a senior governmental position in French Polynesia. The office holder is appointed by the President of French Polynesia. Before the establishment of e ...

. Since 2020 he has served as Mayor of Paea. He is a member of pro-independence party Tavini Huiraatira.

Early life

Géros was 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 ...

and worked as secretary of the town of Faaa before entering politics. He joined the pro-independence Tavini Huiraatira party in 1986, and has served on the municipal council of Paea since 1995. He first entered the

in November 1999 as a replacement for Alexandre Léontieff, who had been convicted of corruption. He was re-elected at the 2001 election.

President of the Assembly of French Polynesia

Géros was elected as President of the Assembly following the 2004 French Polynesian legislative election, winning by a single vote over Emile Vernaudun. Following his election he controversially installed a crucifix in the Assembly, resulting in the Greens leaving the Union for Democracy coalition. The crucifix was removed by President Oscar Temaru in September 2004. he was replaced by his deputy Hirohiti Tefaarere after the French

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

annulled the 2004 election in November 2004. He was re-elected to the Assembly in the resulting by-elections, and re-elected as President of the Assembly in the second round of voting. He was replaced by Philip Schyle at the end of his one-year term in 2006, losing by a single vote.

Cabinet Minister

Following Oscar Temaru's re-election 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 ...

in September 2007 Géros joined his cabinet as Vice-President and Minister of Finance. In December 2007 his budget failed to pass the Assembly. He ran again for Assembly President following the 2008 French Polynesian legislative election, but lost to Édouard Fritch. Two days later a power-sharing agreement with Tahoeraa Huiraatira saw Gaston Flosse re-elected as President, with Géros joining his cabinet as Lands Minister. He resigned as a Minister in April 2008 after Flosse lost a confidence vote in the Assembly, returning to the Assembly in July 2008. He served as vice-President in Temaru's fourth government from February to November 2009, and again in Temaru's fifth government from April 2011 to May 2013. In September 2012 he replaced Pierre Frébault as Minister of Finance in a cabinet reshuffle. He was re-elected to the Assembly at the 2013 election, and was the Union For Democracy's candidate for President. Following the unseating of Édouard Fritch for corruption in September 2014 he again stood unsuccessfully for Assembly President, losing to Marcel Tuihani. He was re-elected again at the 2018 election. Following the unseating of Oscar Temaru for breaching election campaign rules, he became leader of the Tavini Huiraatira in the Assembly. He later criticised the French courts for being manipulated by the government and punishing Temaru for seeking justice for French Polynesia before the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

. In June 2020 he was elected mayor of Paea. In November 2020 he was elected President of the Superior Council of Municipal Civil Service. He was re-elected to the Assembly in the 2023 election. On 11 May 2023 he was elected President of the Assembly for the third time, with 41 votes in favour and 16 abstentions.

Political views

Géros supported the restoration of French Polynesia to the

United Nations list of non-self-governing territories Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter defines a non-self-governing territory (NSGT) as a territory "whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government". Chapter XI of the UN Charter also includes a "Declaration on Non-Se ...

, and supports French Polynesian independence as a way of recognising the rights of the Maohi people. He has repeatedly criticised France's refusal to engage with the United nations

decolonization Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...

process. In 2010 he described French nuclear weapons testing at Moruroa as a crime against the people of Polynesia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Géros, Antony Daniel Teva Living people 1956 births People from Papeete French Polynesian Roman Catholics Vice presidents of French Polynesia Mayors of places in French Polynesia Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia Speakers of the Assembly of French Polynesia Government ministers of French Polynesia Finance ministers of French Polynesia Tavini Huiraatira politicians