Thierry Santa (born 29 August 1967) is a

French politician The politics of France take place within the framework of a semi-presidential systems, semi-presidential system determined by the Constitution of France, French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "in ...

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

who served the 9th

President of the Government of New Caledonia The president of the Government of New Caledonia is a political position in the Government of New Caledonia formed in 1999, after the Nouméa Accord was signed in 1998. New Caledonia has a collegial government with 11 members elected by Congr ...

from July 2019 to July 2021. He served as the leader of The Rally political party from 2018 to 2024. He previously served as

President of the Congress of New Caledonia This article lists the presidents of the Congress of New Caledonia since 1985. The President serves as the head, or speaker, of the Congress of New Caledonia The Congress of New Caledonia (), a "territorial congress" (''congrès territoria ...

from 2015 to 2018.

Early life and education

Born on 29 August 1967 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 ...

, Santa is the son of Tugdual Santa (born in 1943 in

), through whom he descends from notable families of

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 ...

and Irène Degage (born in 1945), former civil servant of the Office of Posts and Telecommunications (OPT) in

then responsible for the social grocery store of the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

in Raiatea. After his parents divorced, he spent most of his childhood between school periods in

where he continued to reside with his mother and vacations in Thio in

with his father. He then studied in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, at the former Université Bordeaux-I, from which he graduated with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

economic sciences Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyses ...

and a specialized higher studies diploma (DESS) in business administration. Once he graduated in 1991, he did his national service as a technical aid volunteer (VAT) in the service of the finances of the town hall of

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French Sui generis collectivity, special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest Francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main i ...

, and then settled permanently in

Political career

He became head of the finance department of the town hall of

until 2000. His political career started in 2000, when Pierre Frogier, then deputy, mayor of Mont-Dore and successor potential of Jacques Lafleur at the head of the historic party of the loyalist right, recruited him on as secretary general of the town hall of this commune in the suburbs of

. It was that same year that he joined the party. Pierre Frogier became president of the government of New Caledonia and resigning from his mandate as mayor on 31 March. His relations with the new chief magistrate, Réginald Bernut, were worse. He left this function within the municipal administration to become a collaborator of Corinne Fuluhea, member of The Rally of the local executive responsible for Vocational Training, until . He then became project manager for the Budget and Financial Affairs Directorate (DBAF) of the government, then returned to his position as secretary general of the town of Mont-Dore to the new mayor, Éric Gay, himself a close friend of Pierre Frogier. He then participated in the reorganization of the municipal administration and the preparation of the urban redevelopment of Boulari.

President of the Rally

Once again an elected official of the opposition, Santa, who had left the general secretariat of The Rally in Virginie Ruffenach, rejoined the structure. He succeeded Pierre Froglier following the 2018 independence referendum on an interim basis. For the 2019 provincial elections, he allied himself with the Caledonian Republicans in a electoral coalition called, Les Loyalistes forming a tandem with Sonia Backès to lead the list in South Province, the latter taking first place and him second. The coalition also became a political group at the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, and Thierry Santa took over as president. They achieved victory with 20 seats out of 40 in the Provincial Assembly, and became the first group of the

, with 18 seats out of 54. He was succeeded by

Alcide Ponga Alcide Ponga (born 1975) is a Kanak politician who has served as the President of the Government of New Caledonia since January 2025. He is the president of the The Rally since 20 April 2024, and formerly served as mayor of Kouaoua as well as ...

President of the Government of New Caledonia

On 28 June 2019, Thierry Santa was elected

president of the government of New Caledonia The president of the Government of New Caledonia is a political position in the Government of New Caledonia formed in 1999, after the Nouméa Accord was signed in 1998. New Caledonia has a collegial government with 11 members elected by Congr ...

. He took office on 6 July. On 9 July, he was also responsible for the coordination and control of the sectors of external relations and civil security, tourist promotion, the strategy for the development of natural resources, the mining code and the social accounts within the government. He is government fell apart in 2021.

Personal life

Santa married Sabine Di Russo (born 1 February 1974) on 3 September 2010, the Human Resources Director of the company ''Nouméa Casinos''.A. Noir, « À l'école du jeu », site officiel de la Province Sud, 17 juin 2009

References

1967 births People from Papeete Presidents of the Government of New Caledonia Living people New Caledonian people of French descent Presidents of the Congress of New Caledonia The Rally (New Caledonia) politicians University of Bordeaux alumni {{NewCaledonia-politician-stub