| President of the Congress of New Caledonia | |
|---|---|
since 31 August 2024 | |
| Residence | Nouméa, South Province |
| Appointer | Congress of New Caledonia |
| Term length | 1 year |
| Formation | 7 October 1985 |
| First holder | Dick Ukeiwé |
| Website | http://www.congres.nc/assemblee/son-organisation/le-president/ |
 |
|---|
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.
| Took office | Left office | President |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | 1960 | Armand Ohlen |
| 1960 | 1961 | René Hénin |
| 1961 | 1966 | Antoine Griscelli |
| 1966 | 1970 | Armand Ohlen |
| 1970 | 1972 | Jean Lèques |
| 1972 | 1973 | Michel Kauma |
| 1973 | 1975 | Yann Celene Uregei |
| 1975 | 1976 | Dick Ukeiwé |
| 1976 | 1977 | Rock Pidjot |
| 1977 | 1978 | Dick Ukeiwé |
| 1978 | 1980 | Jean-Pierre Aïfa |
| 1980 | 1981 | Jean Lèques |
| 1981 | 1982 | Jean-Pierre Aïfa |
| 1982 | 1983 | Jean Lèques |
| 1983 | 1984 | Jean-Pierre Aïfa |
New Caledonia is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, south of Vanuatu, about 1,210 km (750 mi) east of Australia. Technically, it is classified as a sui generis collectivity of overseas France, and is located 17,000 km (11,000 mi) from Metropolitan France.
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.
Pierre Frogier is a French politician, who was President of the Government of New Caledonia from 2001 to 2004. He has been French senator for New Caledonia since 2011, and was member of the National Assembly of France from 1996 to 2011. He served as President of the Congress of New Caledonia from 1995 to 1997.
The Congress of New Caledonia, a "territorial congress", is the legislature of New Caledonia. The congress is headquartered at 1 Boulevard Vauban in downtown Noumea. Local media in New Caledonia refer to the congress as "boulevard Vauban" when referencing it.
Two flags are in use in New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France. Up to 2010, the only flag used to represent New Caledonia was the flag of France, a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue, white, and red known to English speakers as the French Tricolour or simply the Tricolour. However, in July 2010, the Congress of New Caledonia voted in favour of a wish to fly the Kanak flag of the independence movement FLNKS alongside the French Tricolour. The wish, legally non-binding, proved controversial. A majority of New Caledonian communes, but not all, now fly both flags, the rest flying only the French Tricolour.
Harold Martin is a French politician. He served twice as President of the Government of New Caledonia and three times as President of the Congress of New Caledonia between 1997 and 2011. Former student as a site manager in the ESTP, Martin replaced Marie-Noëlle Thémereau in 2007 as the leader of the ruling Future Together party after the party suffered an electoral setback to choose the territory's two members of the French assembly.
Simon Loueckhote is a French politician and a former member of the Senate of France, representing the island of New Caledonia. He is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.
Gaël Yanno is a French politician, and a member of the Union for a Popular Movement. He served as President of the Congress of New Caledonia from 2014 to 2015, and again from July 2018 to May 2019.
Dick Ukeiwé was a New Caledonian politician. Born in Lifou, France, he represented the island in the French Senate from 1983 until 1992, and was a member of the Rally for the Republic. He served as President of the Congress of New Caledonia from 1985 to 1988. His son, Bernard Ukeiwé (1953–2008), was also a New Caledonian politician. Ukeiwé died, aged 84, on 3 September 2013 in Dumbéa.
Sonia Lagarde is a French New Caledonian politician and the current mayor of Nouméa. She has been a member of the National Assembly for New Caledonia's 1st constituency since 2012.
An independence referendum was held in New Caledonia on 4 November 2018. Voters were given the choice of remaining part of France or becoming an independent country.
Thierry Lataste is a senior French civil servant, who served as High Commissioner of New Caledonia from July to August 1994, 1999 to 2002, and again from 2016 to 2019.
An independence referendum was held in New Caledonia on 4 October 2020. The poll was the second to be held under the terms of the Nouméa Accord, following a similar referendum in 2018.
The Future with Confidence was a liberal-conservative and anti-independence electoral alliance of political parties in New Caledonia. It formed part of the anti-separatist and French loyalist bloc in the Congress of New Caledonia.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the French overseas collectivity of New Caledonia on 18 March 2020. All cases are on the main island of Grand Terre and are related to travel abroad. On 7 May, all cases had recovered.
An independence referendum was held in New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific, on 12 December 2021. The vote was the third and final one to be held under the terms of the Nouméa Accord, following votes in 2018 and 2020.
Didier Poidyaliwane was a New Caledonian politician. A pro-independence activist, he was a member of the Caledonian Union (UC) and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) and strongly defended the rights of indigenous Kanak people. He served in the cabinet of Philippe Germain and Thierry Santa as a minister in the Government of New Caledonia.
Caroline Machoro-Reignier is a Kanak politician in New Caledonia. A member of the pro-independence Caledonian Union, she led the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front alliance in the Congress of New Caledonia from 2011 to 2014. In 1988, she was one of the signatories of the Matignon Agreements between New Caledonian loyalists and separatists.
In May 2024, protests and riots broke out in New Caledonia, a sui generis collectivity of overseas France in the Pacific Ocean. The violent protests have led to ten deaths, the declaration of a state of emergency on 16 May, deployment of the French army, and the block of the social network TikTok.
Les Loyalistes is a coalition of anti-independence centrist and right-wing political parties in New Caledonia. The Loyalist coalition is led by Sonia Backès. The parties involved are the Caledonian Republicans, the Caledonian People's Movement (MPC), and Générations NC.
