Boris Léontieff-Teahu (19 September 1955 – 23 May 2002) was 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 member 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 was the mayor of Arue, a small commune on the

Windward Islands The Windward Islands are the southern, generally larger islands of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean islands or the West Indies. Located approximately between latitudes 10° and 16° N and longitudes 60° and 62° W, they extend from D ...

, and founder and President of the Fetia Api party until his disappearance in 2002. He was the brother of former

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 ...

, Alexandre Léontieff. The club pitch of the football team A.S. Arue in

Tahiti Ligue 1 The Tahitian Ligue 1 is the top division of the Fédération Tahitienne de Football in French Polynesia. The league is currently named Ligue 1 Vini for sponsorship reasons. Competition format Competition is divided into a regular season and play ...

, of Tahitian football, was named after him.

Political career

Boris Léontieff 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 ...

, French Polynesia on 9 September 1955. He began his political career in 1989 as the Mayor of Arue, a small town on the outskirts of

. In 1996, Léontieff founded the Fetia Api party, which advocated for French Polynesian independence and opposed

Gaston Flosse Gaston Flosse (born 24 June 1931) is a French Polynesian 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 ...

. Journalist Jean-Pascal Couraud, who blamed

for the closure of his newspaper, also helped establish the party. Léontieff ran for the

seats at the

1996 French Polynesian legislative election Legislative elections were held in French Polynesia in May 1996 for the Territorial Assembly. The result was a victory for Tahoera'a Huiraatira, which won 22 of 41 seats. The pro independence Tāvini Huiraʻatira more than doubled its repres ...

. His party successfully won one seat, and he was elected to the Assembly. At the same election, his brother returned to politics and successfully represented a pro-independence party, sharing the beliefs of his brother Boris. Shortly after this, Couraud went missing on December 15, 1997, and Boris Léontieff temporarily left his position. At the 2001 election Fetia Api won seven seats, and Léontieff was again elected to the Assembly.

Disappearance

On 23 May 2002, Léontieff and Fetia Api members

Lucien Kimitete Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius. People Given name *Lucien, 3rd Prince Murat (1803–1878), French politician and Prince of Pontecorvo *Lucien, Lord of Monaco (1487–1 ...

, Arsen Tuairau and Ferfine Besseyre set out on a flight from

Kaukura Kaukura or Kaheko is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia, long and wide. It is in the western area of the archipelago, southeast of Rangiroa. The closest land is Apataki Atoll, to the northeast. Kaukura Atoll is elongated, ...

Makemo Makemo, Rangi-kemo or Te Paritua, is an inhabited atoll in the Tuamotu archipelago in French Polynesia. History Makemo is the home of legendary Polynesian hero Moeava. The first recorded European to arrive to Makemo Atoll was English pearl mer ...

in the

Tuamotus The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extending (from northwest to ...

to campaign in municipal elections. The plane was diverted due to bad weather to

Nuku Hiva Nuku Hiva (sometimes spelled Nukahiva or Nukuhiva) is the largest of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas country of France in the Pacific Ocean. It was formerly also known as ''Île Marchand'' and ''Madison Island''. Herman M ...

in the

Marquesas Islands The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan language, Marquesan: ' (North Marquesan language, North Marquesan) and ' (South Marquesan language, South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcano, volcanic islands in ...

, and failed to arrive in Makemo. A sea-search was unsuccessful, and was called off after a week. The French colonial government refused to delay the elections. Despite a number of private searches, the aircraft was never found, and Léontieff was declared dead in January 2003. A 2005 inquiry into the disappearance by the Fetia Api party concluded that the aircraft may have crashed due to a fuel supply problem. In 2004, allegations that Jean-Pascal Couraud had been murdered by members of the

's private police force, the Presidential Intervention Group (GIP), led to speculation that Léontieff's disappearance had been the result of foul play. Allegations were also made that both Léontieff and Courard had been under surveillance by the Flosse regime. The Assembly of French Polynesia began an inquiry in June 2005. In 2009 a letter was found admitting guilt to Couraud's kidnapping, and a French judge investigating the case expanded their investigation to include Léontieff's disappearance. The investigation found no explanation for the plane's disappearance, and the case was closed in May 2011. A claim for compensation by Léontieff's widow was rejected in March 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leontieff, Boris 1955 births 2002 deaths French Polynesian people of Russian descent People from Papeete Fetia Api politicians Mayors of places in French Polynesia Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia Missing air passengers Missing French people Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2002