Chantal Galenon
Minister of Solidarity and Housing
Assumed office
15 May 2023
PresidentMoetai Brotherson
Preceded byVirginie Bruant (Solidarity)
Jean-Christophe Bouissou (Housing)
Member of the French Polynesian Assembly
for Windward Isles 1
Assumed office
29 January 2008
Personal details
Born1956 (age 67–68)[1]
Tahiti
Political partyUnion for Democracy
Tavini Huiraatira

Minarii Chantal Galenon-Taupua (born 1956) is a French Polynesian teacher, women's rights activist, politician, and Cabinet Minister. She has been an elected member of the French Polynesian Assembly since 2008 and is President of the French Polynesian Women's Council.

Biography

Galenon was born on Tahiti and grew up in Patutoa in Papeete.[2] A former primary school teacher, from 2001 to 2008 Galenon served on Papeete Municipal Council.[3] From 2008 she was an elected member of the French Polynesian Assembly representing the a Union for Democracy (UPLD) party.[3] She was previously a supporter of Tahoeraa Huiraatira, but resigned from the party in December 2009.[4] Her resignation meant she stood as an independent candidate, an action that meant that Gaston Tong Sang lost his majority.[5] In 2011 hers was the casting vote in the no confidence motion that ended the presidency of Tong Sang.[6]

In 2014 she joined the board of Pu o te Hau - the only women's shelter in the territory.[7] In 2018 she spoke out against the cover designed for the brochure of the Tifaifai International Festival, which featured a naked Polynesian woman. Galenon was quoted as saying: "Nous souhaitons que l’image de la femme polynésienne soit basée sur des valeurs… Non plus considérée comme un objet d’exposition ! Il faut arrêter ce cliché." ["We want the image of Polynesian women to be based on values… No longer considered as an object of exhibition!"][8] She is President of the French Polynesian Women’s Council.[3][9] She is also President of the Association Vahine Piri Rava.[10] The organisation works to protect and develop women's rights in the territory, especially in terms of health.[11]

In 2021 Galenon appealed to the United Nations General Assembly on behalf of the people of French Polynesia whose health has been affected by nuclear testing undertaken by the French government between the 1960s and the 1990s.[12] The same year she voted in favour of a compulsory vaccination programme for certain occupations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13]

She was re-elected to the Assembly in the 2023 election. On 15 May 2023 she was appointed Minister of Solidarity and Housing in the government of Moetai Brotherson.[14][15]

References

  1. ^ "Minarii GALENON". Assemblée de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  2. ^ "MINARII, CHANTAL GALENON - Femmes de Polynésie". 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Delegate bios - New Zealand Parliament". 17 June 2020. Archived from the original on 17 June 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  4. ^ "DIVIDED TAHITI LAWMAKERS PASS 2010 BUDGET | Pacific Islands Report". 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  5. ^ Gonschor, Lorenz (2011). "French Polynesia". The Contemporary Pacific. 23 (1): 215–227. doi:10.1353/cp.2011.0028. ISSN 1527-9464.
  6. ^ "French Polynesia's Tong Sang ousted by Temaru | RNZ News". Radio New Zealand. 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  7. ^ "Chantal Galenon". Femme authochtones.
  8. ^ "La Une du magazine spécial tifaifai déçoit le Conseil des femmes". 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Chantal Galenon : "sauvons nos femmes en instruisant" • TNTV Tahiti Nui Télévision". 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  10. ^ "French Polynesia Petitioners Say 'Accommodationist' Territorial Government Provides Illusion of Self-determination, as President Hails Autonomy | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Assemblée générale de l'association Vahine Piri Rava | Brèves | TAHITI INFOS, les informations de Tahiti". 10 September 2012. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Speakers Stake Out Diverging Positions on Western Sahara, French Polynesia, Other Decolonization Questions, as Fourth Committee Continues Work | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Six élus Tavini ont déposé une proposition de loi contre l'obligation vaccinale | La Dépêche de Tahiti". 5 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  14. ^ "La liste des ministres du gouvernement Moetai Brotherson" (in French). Polynesie1. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Le gouvernement bleu pastel de Brotherson" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
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