The president

Moetai Brotherson is the new President of French Polynesia. He was elected on Friday, May 12, by the Assembly of French Polynesia, convened for this purpose, with a large majority of 38 votes. Moetai Brotherson succeeds Edouard Fritch, who had been President of French Polynesia since September 2014, serving for nine years. The election of President Moetai Brotherson marks a turning point in the history of French Polynesia. At 54 years old, he is now the youngest elected President of the territory. The other candidates received 16 votes for outgoing President Edouard Fritch and 3 votes for Nicole Sanquer.

He was elected by the Assembly, now presided over by Tony Géros, elected yesterday as Speaker, in the presence of the High Commissioner of the Republic, Eric Spitz, Roch Wamitan, President of the Congress of New Caledonia, representatives of CESEC and CESC, and parliamentarians. Once elected, and as is customary, the Assembly President invited him to take his place on the government bench, crowned and cheered, notably by his son and his wife, who draped him in a tifaifai according to Polynesian tradition.

The moved President then spoke briefly to thank everyone:
« I thank my political family, Tavini Huiraatira, its founder and leader Oscar Manutahi Temaru, who trusted in youth. I think of the party elders who are no longer with us today and who paved the way we follow now. I would like to thank my family who are present today. It is said that when we become adults, we have children, but in reality it is our children who make us adults. Thank you to my two brothers Moana and Matairea, thank you to my cousin Joseph, to my uncle Auguste, the only one still alive from his siblings, thank you to all my family for being here, and congratulations to my substitute, now Madame Deputy. When I was a child, I was adopted, like many of us; I also want to say that fa’amu, when it goes well, doubles the love. Today I think of them, Clémence and Taro Hamblin, who help me, among other things, to express myself well in Tahitian, and of my parents Milton and Jeanine who are up there, and of my current parents Marie and Oscar. I would like to finish with a story on a lighter note: last year, I was on a plane, and next to me was a Belgian. We talked for the whole Papeete – Los Angeles flight about everything; he listened to my stories about independence, and he said to me: ‘You know, in Belgium we went three years without a government, and those were the best years of our country.’ Beyond the joke, I want to say that the government alone cannot do anything; it is together, united, that we can build this country. Finally, I want to thank my wife, without whom I would be nothing. It is often said that behind every politician there is a woman. I tell you, my wife is not behind me, she is beside me, and I love you. »

Moetai Brotherson was born on October 22, 1969, in Papeete, to a mother who was a teacher and a father who was a nurse. A computer and telecommunications engineer, he worked successively in France, Japan, Germany, and the United States, where he witnessed the September 11, 2001 attacks. This tragic event led him to return to Fenua. The new President became involved in politics early, joining the Tavini Huiraatira political movement in 2004. He became a municipal councilor of Faa’a, the largest commune in the territory, in 2014. In 2017, he was elected as a deputy to the French National Assembly, re-elected in 2022, and he joined the Assembly of French Polynesia, where he was elected Representative in 2018 and re-elected in 2023.

Moetai Brotherson is married to Teua Temaru, daughter of former President Oscar Temaru, and they have a child together. He is also the father of four children from a previous union. A man of consensus and listening, humanist, the President is also a writer, author of « Le Roi absent » (The Absent King), published in 2007 by « Au Vent des Iles », a work of fiction oscillating between fairy tale and Polynesian mythology, exploring the identity quest of a people witnessing their own downfall through the adventures of the young hero Moanam, who questions the world around him—a figure that could represent any of us. This spirit, present in his writings, naturally led Moetai Brotherson to engage in politics in service of his country, ultimately reaching the highest office as President of French Polynesia.