Benoît Kautai

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Benoît Kautai
Mayor of Nuku Hiva
Assumed office
2002
Preceded byLucien Kimitete
Member of the French Polynesian Assembly
for Marquesas Islands
Assumed office
6 May 2018
Member of the French Polynesian Assembly
for Marquesas Islands
In office
29 January 2008 – 4 May 2013
Personal details
Born1960[1]
Political partyTe Henua Enata a Tu
Union For Democracy
Tāpura Huiraʻatira

Benoît Kautai (born 1960) is a French Polynesian politician and Member of the Assembly of French Polynesia. He is currently mayor of Nuku Hiva. He is a member of Tāpura Huiraʻatira.

He was elected Mayor of Nuku Hiva in 2002 following the disappearance of Lucien Kimitete.[2]

He was first elected to the Assembly of French Polynesia in the 2008 French Polynesian legislative election, on the Marquesan Te Henua Enata a Tu list, which advocated for the Marquesas Islands to be split from the rest of French Polynesia.[3] He later abstained from the Assembly's 2011 vote to re-enter French Polynesia on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories.[4] He ran in the 2013 election as a candidate for the Union For Democracy (UPLD), but lost his seat.[5]

In February 2016 he attended the founding congress of the Tāpura Huiraʻatira and was elected as one of the party's vice-presidents.[6] He was re-elected to the Assembly as a Tāpura candidate in the 2018 election.[7] Shortly after the election he was charged with abuse of public funds and fraud over a roading project in Nuku Hiva.[8] In September 2018 he was convicted of both charges, fined US$50,000, and given a ten-month suspended prison sentence, but not disqualified from office.[9][10] In December 2018 the French Polynesian government declined to seek damages from him.[11]

He was re-elected as mayor of Nuku Hiva in May 2020.[12] As mayor, he advocated for the Marquesas to become an "archipelago community" with autonomy within French Polynesia.[13] He also advocated for the Marquesas to be listed as a World Heritage Site.[14]

He was re-elected in the 2023 election.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Benoît KAUTAI". Assemblée de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Qui sont nos 57 nouveaux élus" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Marquesas renews push to split from French Polynesia". RNZ. 30 January 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Réinscription : le nombre de votes favorables à la résolution revu à la baisse" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Assemblée de Polynésie : un paysage politique considérablement remanié" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Plus de 8000 personnes au congrès fondateur du Tapura Huiraatira" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Territoriales 2018 : Le nouveau visage de l'Assemblée" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  8. ^ "New assembly member in French Polynesia to face trial". RNZ. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Suspended jail term for French Polynesian assembly member". RNZ. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Pas d'inéligibilité pour Benoît Kautai, mais une amende et du sursis" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  11. ^ "French Poly govt decides against claiming damages in Kautai case". RNZ. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Benoit Kautai garde son fauteuil" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 23 May 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  13. ^ "Les Marquises veulent devenir une "communauté d'archipel"" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 27 October 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Marquises à l'Unesco : L'avant-dernière étape avec la population" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  15. ^ "La nouvelle composition de l'assemblée" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 1 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
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