Thomas Moutame

Thomas Moutame
Mayor of Taputapuatea
Incumbent
Assumed office
1997
Preceded byToni Hiro
Minister of Agriculture and Island Development
In office
17 May 2013 – 16 September 2014
PresidentGaston Flosse
Succeeded byFrédéric Riveta
Minister of Outer Islands Development
In office
18 February 2009 – 25 November 2009
PresidentOscar Temaru
Member of the French Polynesian Assembly
for Leeward Isles
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 May 2013
In office
23 May 2004 – 28 January 2008
In office
12 May 1996 – 5 May 2001
Personal details
Born1958 (age 65–66)[1]
Political partyTahoera'a Huiraatira
Tapura Huiraatira

Thomas Moutame is a French Polynesian politician and former Cabinet Minister. He has served as Mayor of Taputapuatea since 1997.[2] He is a member of Tapura Huiraatira.

Moutame is from Raiatea.[3] He was first elected to the Assembly of French Polynesia at the 1996 French Polynesian legislative election.[1] He lost his seat at the 2001 election, but was re-elected in 2004. He lost his seat again at the 2008 election.[1] In February 2009 he was appointed to the coalition cabinet of Oscar Temaru as Minister of Outer Islands Development.[4] He later worked as a technical advisor to the Ministry of Rural Economy.[3]

In 2007 while serving as Mayor of Taputapuatea he refused to marry a couple because one of them had had a sex change.[5] In March 2011 he was convicted of abuse of power and fined US$5000.[6] In September 2011 the Court of Appeal overturned an initial sentence of a year's ineligibility for office.[7]

Following the 2013 election he was appointed to the Cabinet of Gaston Flosse as Minister of Agriculture and Island Development.[8] After the fall of the Flosse government in September 2014 he returned to the Assembly.[9] In December 2015 he voted for Édouard Fritch's budget rather than abstain with the rest of his party.[10] He did the same in December 2016.[11]

In April 2017 he was one of 22 Tahoeraa politicians jointly ordered to repay US$2.1 million of public funds they had misused to advance their political party between 1996 and 2004.[12]

In February 2018 he left the Tahoeraa after failing to secure a high enough placing on the party list.[13] He subsequently ran as a Tapura Huiraatira in the 2018 election[14] and was elected.[15] In 2020 he was re-elected as Mayor of Taputapuatea for a fifth term.[2][16]

  1. ^ a b c "Thomas MOUTAME". Assemblée de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Moutame avec une belle majorité" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Qui sont les 8 ministres pressentis pour entrer dans le futur gouvernement ?" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  4. ^ "French Polynesia's newly-elected President finalises his Cabinet". RNZ. 18 February 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  5. ^ "French Polynesia mayor in court over sex change objection". RNZ. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  6. ^ "French Polynesia mayor sentenced for opposing sex change marriage". RNZ. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Pas d'inéligibilité pour Thomas Moutame, le maire qui avait refusé de marier un transsexuel" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Gaston Flosse présente son gouvernement" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 17 May 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Assemblée de Polynésie : l'hémicycle territorial réintègre les ministres élus" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 7 September 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  10. ^ "Budget : Moutame et Raioha votent avec les pro-Fritch mais restent au Tahoera'a" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Le budget 2017 de la Polynésie française adopté par 33 voix" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Top Tahiti politicians ordered to repay diverted funds". RNZ. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Territoriales : le coup de bluff de Moutame a fonctionné" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Territoriales : le Tapura Huiraatira dévoile ses candidats" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 17 March 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Territoriales 2018 : Le nouveau visage de l'Assemblée" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Tong Sang, Tetuanui et Moutame rempilent" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 15 March 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2022.