Frantz Vanizette

Frantz Vanizette (25 February 1927 — 5 November 2001) was a French Polynesian politician who served five times as president of the Assembly of French Polynesia.

Frantz Vanizette
President of the Assembly of French Polynesia
In office
29 May 1981 – 1 June 1982
Preceded byJohn Teariki
Succeeded byÉmile Vernaudon
In office
29 May 1979 – 30 May 1980
Preceded byJohn Teariki
Succeeded byJohn Teariki
In office
7 June 1977 – 28 April 1978
Preceded byGaston Flosse
Succeeded byJohn Teariki
In office
5 June 1974 – 10 June 1976
Preceded byGaston Flosse
Succeeded byGaston Flosse
In office
2 March 1961 – 6 November 1962
Preceded byJacques Tauraa
Succeeded byJacques Tauraa
Member of the French Polynesian Assembly
for Windward Isles
In office
3 November 1957 – 31 May 1982
Personal details
Born25 February 1927[1]
Montendre, Charente-Maritime, France[1]
Died5 November 2001(2001-11-05) (aged 74)[2]
Pirae, French Polynesia[1]
Political partyIndependent
Tahitian Democratic Union
Te Au Tahoeraa–Tomite Taufa

Vanizette was born in Montendre in the Charente-Maritime department of France.[1] After serving in the French Navy he moved to Tahiti where he worked as a secretary at the Chamber of Agriculture and married a sister of politician Jean-Baptiste Céran-Jérusalémy.[2] In 1952 he became general secretary of the Polynesian Federation of Trade unions (CFTC) and became head of the social insurance fund (CPF).[2]

He was first elected to the Assembly of French Polynesia as an independent in the 1957 French Polynesian legislative election. He opposed the government of Pouvanaa a Oopa, and advocated for its removal following the French riots against it.[2] He subsequently joined the Tahitian Democratic Union,[2] and was re-elected on its ticket in the 1962 elections. He was re-elected as an independent at the 1967 election.[3] In the leadup to the 1972 election he was a founder of the Te Au Tahoeraa–Tomite Taufa, which promoted limited autonomy within France.[4] He was re-elected.[5]

In June 1975 he was re-elected as President of the Assembly after forming a new majority with the backing of pro-autonomy parties.[6] In November 1975 the majority shifted again to favour the anti-autonomy Gaullist faction headed by Gaston Flosse.[7] 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.[7] 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.[8][9]

At the 1977 election Vanizette ran as part of the pro-autonomy United Front, which won a majority.[10] He was elected president of the Assembly[11] 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, with which he contested the 1982 election.[2] After failing to be re-elected[12] he retired from political life.[2]

He died at Jean-Prince Hospital in Pirae in November 2001.[1]

References
  1. "Frantz Vanizette, ancien président de l'Assemblée territoriale de Polynésie" (in French). Le Monde. 9 November 2001. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. "Frantz VANIZETTE" (in French). Assemblée de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  3. "STRONG VOTE FOR AUTONOMY IN FRENCH POLYNESIA". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 38, no. 10. 1 October 1967. p. 25. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "New move on autonomy for Fr. Polynesia". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 42, no. 8. 1 August 1971. p. 14. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Autonomists set back on their heels at French-Polynesian polls". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 43, no. 10. 1 October 1972. p. 13. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "TAHITIANS WANT THEIR VOICE HEARD". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 46, no. 7. 1 July 1975. p. 5. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "French Polynesia's Year of Decision". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 47, no. 1. 1 January 1976. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "TAHITI'S DOUBLE CHECKMATE". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 47, no. 8. 1 August 1976. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Poll out-manoeuvres protestors". Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. 14 June 1976. p. 6. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Sanford wins in Tahiti". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 48, no. 8. 1 August 1977. p. 17. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "LA NOUVELLE ASSEMBLEE A TAHITI". Le Courrier Australien. 1 July 1977. p. 3. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Wrecks, safe returns in May 23 poll". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 53, no. 7. 1 July 1982. p. 22. Retrieved 2 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
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