Frantz Vanizette (25 February 1927 — 5 November 2001) 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 who served five times as 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 ...

. Vanizette was born in Montendre in the

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...

department of France. After serving in the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

he moved to

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

where he worked as a secretary at the Chamber of Agriculture and married a sister of politician Jean-Baptiste Céran-Jérusalémy. In 1952 he became general secretary of the Polynesian Federation of Trade unions (CFTC) and became head of the social insurance fund (CPF). He was first elected to the

as an independent in the

1957 French Polynesian legislative election Legislative elections were held in French Polynesia on 3 November 1957 for the Territorial Assembly.La chronologi ...

. He opposed the government of

Pouvanaa a Oopa Pouvana'a a O'opa (May 10, 1895 – January 10, 1977) was a Tahitian politician and advocate for French Polynesian independence. He is viewed as the ''metua'' (father) of French Polynesia's independence movement. Pouvanaa served as a Deputy i ...

, and advocated for its removal following the French riots against it. He subsequently joined the Tahitian Democratic Union, and was re-elected on its ticket in the

1962 elections The following elections occurred in 1962. Africa * 1962 Algerian independence referendum, Algerian independence referendum * 1962 Chadian parliamentary election * 1962 Gambian legislative election, Gambian legislative election * 1962 Northern ...

. He was re-elected as an independent at the 1967 election. In the leadup to the 1972 election he was a founder of the Te Au Tahoeraa–Tomite Taufa, which promoted limited autonomy within France. He was re-elected. In June 1975 he was re-elected as President of the Assembly after forming a new majority with the backing of pro-autonomy parties. In November 1975 the majority shifted again to favour the anti-autonomy Gaullist faction headed by

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 ...

. When Flosse was in Paris, he called a meeting of the Assembly in the middle of the night to reject the government's proposal for increased integration with France and to call for new elections. When the French government refused, pro-autonomy MPs and their supporters occupied the Assembly building, while Flosse's supporters formed their own Assembly and elected him president. At the 1977 election Vanizette ran as part of the pro-autonomy United Front, which won a majority. He was elected president of the Assembly and re-elected twice more in the next five years, alternating with John Teariki. In 1981 he formed the Social Democratic Party 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 ...

, with which he contested the 1982 election. After failing to be re-elected he retired from political life. He died at Jean-Prince Hospital in Pirae in November 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanizette, Frantz 1927 births 2001 deaths People from Charente-Maritime French Polynesian trade unionists French Polynesian civil servants Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia Speakers of the Assembly of French Polynesia