Maurice Ponga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the European Parliament for Overseas Territories | |
| In office 2009–2019 | |
| Preceded by | Margie Sudre |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 5,1947 Kouaoua,New Caledonia |
| Citizenship | French |
| Political party | The Rally |
Maurice Ponga (born 5 June 1947 in Kouaoua,New Caledonia) is a French politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 until 2019. He was elected in the 2009 European election for the Overseas constituency.
Ponga is a Melanesian (Kanak),but unlike most Kanaks,he opposes New Caledonia's independence from France and is a member of The Rally-UMP,a major anti-independence party. He has represented the party,known as RPCR until 2002,in the Congress of New Caledonia between 1995 and 2009. While in office,he participated in all but one New Caledonian government. Most recently,as Minister of Youth and Sports in the Martin II government,he played a major role in the success of Noumea's bid for the 2011 Pacific Games.
In the 2009 European elections,Ponga was the UMP's candidate in the Pacific Section of the Overseas constituency,and his candidacy was locally supported by all anti-independence parties. The UMP won one seat in the constituency with 29.7% of the votes,and since the UMP obtained its highest result in the Pacific Section (44.4%),Ponga was elected to the European Parliament. He is the second New Caledonian and second Kanak to serve as an MEP,after Dick Ukeiwé (also a member of the RPCR),who served between 1989 and 1994.
In the Republicans’2017 leadership election,Ponga endorsed Laurent Wauquiez. [1]
In 2019,Ponga was the winner of the Development Award at The Parliament Magazine's annual MEP Awards. [2]
New Caledonia is a sui generis collectivity of overseas France in the southwest Pacific Ocean,south of Vanuatu,about 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia,and 17,000 km (11,000 mi) from Metropolitan France. The archipelago,part of the Melanesia subregion,includes the main island of Grande Terre,the Loyalty Islands,the Chesterfield Islands,the Belep archipelago,the Isle of Pines,and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. French people,especially locals,call Grande Terre le Caillou,a nickname also used more generally for the entire New Caledonia. Pro-independence Kanak parties use the name (la) Kanaky to refer to New Caledonia,a term coined in the 1980s from the ethnic name of the indigenous Melanesian Kanak people who make up 41% of New Caledonia's population. New Caledonia is one of the European Union's Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs),but it is not part of the European Union.
New Caledonia is a French sui generis collectivity with a system of government based on parliamentarism and representative democracy. The President of the Government is the head of government,and there is a multi-party system,with Executive power being exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the executive and the Congress of New Caledonia. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Rally is a conservative political party in New Caledonia. The Rally is an anti-separatist,loyalist party strongly supportive of the French status of the region and is opposed to the independence of New Caledonia. It is affiliated with the Les Republicains party in mainland France.
Future Together was a center-right political party in New Caledonia supporting the maintenance of political and administrative ties with France.
The Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front is a pro-independence alliance of political parties in New Caledonia. It was founded in 1984 at a congress of various political parties. Its supporters are mostly from the Kanak indigenous population but also include supporters from other ethnic communities.
The Federation of Pro-Independence Co-operation Committees is a political party in New Caledonia supporting the island's independence from France,although it is the most moderate of all nationalist parties.
The Kanak Socialist Liberation is a Kanak pro-independence and socialist political party in New Caledonia.
Marc Joulaud is a French politician who served as Member of the European Parliament for the West France constituency from 2014 until 2019. He is a member of the French center right party Les Républicains (LR). He was given a suspended three-year sentence due to the Fillon affair.
The Rally for Caledonia was a Gaullist political party in New Caledonia,strongly supportive of the French status of the region;it is close to the French Union for a Popular Movement.
The Movement for Diversity is a right-wing political party in New Caledonia,strongly supportive of the French status of the region;it is close to the French Union for a Popular Movement.
Philippe Gomès is a New Caledonian politician and,from 5 June 2009 to 11 March 2011,President of the Government of New Caledonia,an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. He served as a member of the National Assembly from 2008 until 2022.
Philippe Juvin is a French medical doctor and politician of The Republicans (LR) who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 until 2019 for the Île-de-France constituency.
Alain Cadec is a French politician of the Republicans (LR) who has been serving as a member of the Senate since the 2020 elections,representing the Côtes-d'Armor district. He previously was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the West France constituency from 2009 until 2019.
Michel Dantin is a French politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament for the South-East France constituency from 2009 until 2019. In addition,he has been the mayor of Chambéry from 2014 to 2020. He is a member of the Republicans.
Geoffroy Didier is a French lawyer and politician of the Republicans who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament from 2017 to 2024.
Legislative elections were held in New Caledonia on 8 February 1953.
Sonia Backès is a French politician in New Caledonia. She is the current leader of the Caledonian Republicans party and the President of the Provincial Assembly of South Province since 17 May 2019.
Legislative elections were held in New Caledonia on 11 September 1977. Anti-autonomy parties won 19 of the 35 seats.
Early legislative elections were held in New Caledonia on 29 September 1985. They were called after the 1984 elections had been boycotted by the pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) and were marred by violence that continued for several weeks after election day.
Pierre Maresca was a French politician and journalist in New Caledonia.
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