Eliane Tevahitua (born 23 July 1958) 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

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 ...

who was

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 ...

from 2023 to 2024. She is a member of Tavini Huiraatira. Tevahitua 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 a midwife. From 1994 to 2013 she was director of the School of Midwives. In 2008 she graduated from the

University of French Polynesia The University of French Polynesia () is a French university located in Puna'auia, French Polynesia. History Created by a decree of May 29, 1987, the university was originally called French Pacific University and was split between two sites ...

with a doctorate in Polynesian civilisation. Her thesis was on ''the toponymy of the lands of Fa 'a'ä and Tahitian land representations''. She then worked as secretary of the Union of French-speaking women of Oceania (UFFO). She was elected to the Assembly of French Polynesia on the Union For Democracy (UPLD) list at the

2013 French Polynesian legislative election Legislative elections were held in French Polynesia on 21 April and 5 May 2013. The result was a landslide victory for the Tahoera'a Huiraatira party, which won 38 of the 57 seats in the Assembly. Electoral system The election was held using a ...

. In the Assembly she served on the Permanent Commission, and the Budget and Finance Committee. She was an advocate for nuclear-test victims, forcing the government to disclose more information on the health toll of French fallout. She was re-elected at the 2018 election as a Tavini candidate. In 2020 she opposed French immigration to Polynesia, calling it colonialist. During the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

she denounced the government response as inadequate, and called for the introduction of mass-testing to protect the population. She later urged the use of Chinese or Russian vaccines rather than waiting for France to supply them. She was not included in Tavini's final list for the 2023 election. Following the Tāvini's election win she was appointed

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 ...

and Minister of Culture and the Environment in

Moetai Brotherson Moetai Charles Brotherson (born 22 October 1969) is a French Polynesian politician who has served as President of French Polynesia since 12 May 2023. He had previously represented French Polynesia's 3rd constituency in the French National Assemb ...

's new cabinet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tevahitua, Eliane Living people 1958 births People from Papeete French Polynesian health professionals University of French Polynesia alumni Tavini Huiraatira politicians Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia Vice presidents of French Polynesia Ministers of culture of French Polynesia Environment ministers of French Polynesia 21st-century French politicians 21st-century French women politicians French Polynesian women in politics