Oscar Temaru
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Oscar Temaru (born November 1, 1944, at Faa'a on the island of Tahiti) is a politician in French Polynesia, the current president of that country.
He was the President of that country from June 15, 2004, until his Government lost a censure motion on October 8, 2004. He was the caretaker President during the ensuing political crisis. He is supported by two political parties, the Union For Democracy and the pro-independence 'Tavini Huiraatira' (People's Servant Party). Those parties unexpectedly defeated supporters of long-time leader Gaston Flosse in May 2004 parliamentary elections.
On October 8, 2004, his government was censured and ousted by the Parliament, by a vote of 29 to 28. There were calls for the French Government to step in and hold new elections, and allegations by the French Socialist Party that his Government was subject to acts of "methodical destabilisation" on the part of the French government. Gaston Flosse was re-elected President by the Assembly in a simple majority vote on October 22. The President of the Assembly, Antony Géros, cast doubt on the legitimacy of this election saying the vote for President should occur on October 25. (see French Polynesia political crisis 2004). As a compromise, some by-elections were set for early 2005 for certain seats, which Temaru's coalition won. He was re-elected president on March 3 2005.
Background
Oscar Temaru was educated in Faa'a and Papeete where he received a thorough religious education.
An early political influence was Jean-Marie Tjibaou, philosopher and former leader of the Kanak Socialist Liberation Front, who was assassinated in New Caledonia in 1989.
Temaru entered the French Navy for three years in 1961 and participated in the Algerian War of Independence. On his return to French Polynesia he sat the exam to become a customs officer in Tahiti. In 1999 he retired from this position.
Oscar Temaru has been a vocal campaigner against nuclear testing by France at Moruroa and Fangataufa Atolls since the 1970s. His main power base has been in the shanty towns of Faa'a where thousands of migrant workers live.
In 1977 Oscar Temaru formed his political party, the Front for the Liberation of Polynesia (FLP). The party changed its name in 1983 to 'Tavini Huiraatira' (People's Servant Party). The same year he was elected mayor of Faa'a, which position he continues to hold (as of 2004).
In 1986 'Tavini Huiraatira' obtained 2 seats in the territorial assembly, 4 seats in 1991, 11 in 1996, and 13 in 2001. In 2004 the Union for Democracy Coalition takes 27 of the 57 seats.
Oscar Temaru's coalition government program in 2004 included the gradual increase of the minimum wage to 150.000 Fcfp, work days that don’t start before 9am, an improvement of social services, political decentralisation, educational reform, and a revision of the new autonomy statute after French Polynesia was declared a French Overseas Country in March 2004.
He pledged there would be no immediate moves to independence.
When asked by an Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter "Most people call this place French Polynesia. What do you call it?" he replied "This is French-occupied Polynesia. That is the truth. This country has been occupied."
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