Etienne Raapoto (born 19 March 1951) 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 journalist and television presenter who presented the news in '' Reo Tahiti'' on

Polynésie la 1ère Polynésie La Première (, ), also known as Polynésie la 1ère, is a French public television channel based in Faʻaʻā which broadcasts in French Polynesia. History In return for the installation of nuclear testing center in Mururoa in Fre ...

for nearly 40 years. He is the son of former

Maohi Protestant Church The Maohi Protestant Church (; ) is a Reformed church in French Polynesia. It is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The first missionaries arrived in 1797. After 1815 the majority of the population identified themselves with ...

president Samuel Raapoto and the brother of academic

Jean-Marius Raapoto Jean-Marius Raapoto (1 January 1943 – 23 March 2025) was a French Polynesian educator, academic and politician who served as a Council of Ministers (French Polynesia), Cabinet Minister. He was a major advocate for the Tahitian language, and se ...

and linguist

Turo Raapoto Turo a Raapoto or Turo Raapoto (sometimes spelled Duro Raapoto) (16 March 1948 – 7 May 2014) was a French Polynesian linguist, writer and theologian. He was the son of religious leader Samuel Raapoto and the brother of academic Jean-Marius Raapo ...

. Raapoto 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 educated at Charles Viénot school. He then studied teaching and theology in France and Switzerland. Returning to French Polynesia, he trained education staff for the Protestant Church, and ran a youth center in Pirae while studying ''Reo Tahiti'' with

Maco Tevane Maco Tevane, real name Marc Maamaatuaiahutapu (13 August 1937 – 21 August 2013) was a French Polynesian author, playwright, and politician who served as Minister of Culture in the government of Gaston Flosse in the 1990s. He was a defender of P ...

. In 1983 he joined ''Polynésie la 1ère'' (then known as RFO) as its first bilingual journalist. In 1984, he presented the first news program in Tahitian. During his career with ''Polynésie la 1ère'' he contributed to the creation of Polynesian-focused and ''Reo Tahiti'' content, including the television programs ''Haumanava'', ''Ha'amana'o na'', ''Fare Ma'ohi'' and ''Tahi, Rua, Toru''. He retired in April 2016, making his last news broadcast on ''Polynésie la 1ère'' on 7 April. Following his retirement he was part of the team which translated the Disney film '' Moana'' into '' Reo Tahiti''. In June 2020 he was made a knight of the

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

category:Living people 1951 births People from Papeete category:French Polynesian journalists category:French Polynesian educators Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of French Polynesia {{FrenchPolynesia-bio-stub