Tearii Alpha

Tearii Alpha
Alpha in 2019
Vice-President of French Polynesia
In office
17 September 2020 – 4 November 2021
PresidentÉdouard Fritch
Preceded byTeva Rohfritsch
Succeeded byJean-Christophe Bouissou
In office
1 March 2011 – 1 April 2011
PresidentGaston Tong Sang
Preceded byÉdouard Fritch
Succeeded byAntony Géros
Minister of Agriculture, Blue Economy and Industry
In office
17 September 2020 – 15 May 2023
PresidentÉdouard Fritch
Preceded byTeva Rohfritsch (Blue Economy)
Succeeded byTaivini Teai
Personal details
Born (1971-12-05) 5 December 1971 (age 52)
Political partyTapura Huiraatira
To Tatou Aia

Tearii Te Moana Alpha (born 5 December 1971) is a French Polynesian politician. Since 2014 he has served as Mayor of Teva I Uta.[1] He was Vice-President of the territory briefly in 2011, and again from 2020-2021. He is a founding member of Tahoeraa Huiraatira.[2]

In 1997 Alpha completed a thesis in biological sciences at the French Pacific University.[3]

In October 2004 he was appointed Minister of Fisheries in the government of Gaston Flosse.[4] In December of that year he was appointed as head of Tahoeraa Huiraatira's youth wing.[4] He later served as Minister of Lands.[5]

On 2 March 2011 he was appointed as Vice President by Gaston Tong Sang, replacing Édouard Fritch.[6] He ran for the French National Assembly as a candidate for To Tatou Aia in the 2012 election.[7]

In march 2014 he was elected mayor of Teva I Uta, defeating Valentina Cross.[8]

In April 2018, in the leadup to the 2018 elections, he was accused with other Tapura Huiraatira members of using public money to fund his election campaign.[9] In September 2020 he was appointed vice-president following the resignation of Teva Rohfritsch.[10][11]

On 14 February 2021 he was elected as president of the community of municipalities of Tereheamanu.[12]

In August 2021 a wedding ceremony for Alpha reportedly violated Covid-19 rules.[13][14] In November 2021 he was fired as Vice-President after refusing to comply with the territory's mandatory vaccination law.[2][15][16] However, he retained his ministerial portfolios,[17] a decision which led to the resignation from Cabinet of Nicole Bouteau.[18] He was replaced as Vice-President by Jean-Christophe Bouissou.[18]

  1. ^ "Le maire" (in French). Commune de Teva I Uta. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Tearii Alpha a repris sa liberté" (in French). actu.fr. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  3. ^ Tearii Alpha (1997). Etude des concretes et des essences de santals d'origine oceanienne : elucidation de nouveaux sesquiterpenoides par la rmn multi-impulsionnelle et bidimensionnelle (PhD) (in French). Université française du Pacifique. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b "French Polynesia's Huiraatira names Alpha head of youth wing". RNZ. 7 December 2004. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Tahiti call for public debate on land ownership disputes". RNZ. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Tong Sang names Alpha as new French Polynesia vice-president". RNZ. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Tong Sang nominated as French Polynesia candidate for French assembly". RNZ. 1 March 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Pas de vague orange en Polynésie où de nombreux maires sortants sont réélus" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Tahiti leadership accused of campaign funding breach". RNZ. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Fritch redistribue les cartes" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  11. ^ "Alpha becomes new French Polynesia vice-president". RNZ. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Tearii Alpha élu président de Téreheamanu, la communauté de communes de Tahiti Sud" (in French). Outremers360. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Tahiti vice president wedding probed for ignoring Covid-19 rules". RNZ. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Tearii Alpha : ni remords, ni regrets, ni réelles explications" (in French). Radio1. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  15. ^ "French Polynesia's vice-president fired for not getting jab". RNZ. 8 November 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Tension among Tahiti leaders over vaccination refusal". RNZ. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Tearii Alpha n'est plus Vice-président, mais reste ministre" (in French). Presidency of French Polynesia. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Fritch names Bouissou as new VP of French Polynesia". RNZ. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.