Alfred Poroi

Alfred Poroi
Senator for French Polynesia
In office 1962–1971
Preceded by	Gérald Coppenrath
Succeeded by	Pouvanaa a Oopa
Mayor of Papeete
In office 1 September 1942 – 9 October 1966
Preceded by	Léonce Brault
Succeeded by	Georges Pambrun
Member of the French Polynesian Assembly for Windward Islands
In office 3 November 1957 – 9 September 1972
Member of the French Polynesian Assembly for Papeete
In office 1946 – 3 November 1957
Personal details
Born	3 March 1906[1] Mataiea, French Polynesia[1]
Died	27 August 1984(1984-08-27) (aged 78)[1] Pirae, French Polynesia[1]
Political party	Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance Tahitian Union

Alfred Ernest Teraireia Poroi (3 March 1906—27 August 1994) was a French Polynesian politician who represented French Polynesia in the French Senate from 1962 to 1971.

Poroi was born in Mataiea on Tahiti and educated at l’école Viénot in Papeete.[2] After working in the shipping industry, he was appointed manager of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand's Papeete operations.[1] In 1934 he was one of the founders of the Radio-Club Océanien, which ran the first radio station in Tahiti, and later served as its president.[1][3] In 1946 he founded a travel agency, Travel Poroi.

In 1935 he was elected as a municipal councilor of Papeete. In 1941 when the council was dissolved and replaced by a commission he was appointed 1st deputy.[2] In September 1942 he was appointed mayor following the resignation of Léonce Brault.[4] He won the subsequent mayoral elections in August 1945 and was constantly re-elected until 1966.[1]

He was first elected to the Assembly of French Polynesia in the 1945–46 French Oceanian legislative election. He was re-elected in the 1953 French Oceanian legislative election, with members of his Union for the Defence of the Interests of French Oceania coalition winning all five seats in Papeete.[5] Following a dispute in the Assembly on 10 April 1953, a fight broke out between Poroi and Noël Ilari. Ilari then challenged Poroi to a duel, which Poroi agreed should take place at the end of the day. The duel ultimately did not occur, after Governor René Petitbon broadcast a radio message forbidding it and stationed police at the homes of the participants.[6] He was re-elected in the 1957 election as a member of Rudy Bambridge's Tahitian Union. Following riots over income tax which overthrew the elected government of Pouvanaa a Oopa,[7] he was appointed head of a new government by Governor Camille Victor Bailly.[8]

In 1962 a split in the Tahitian Union saw Bambridge and Coppenrath depart. Poroi then contested Coppenrath's senate seat, winning election in the second round.[1][9] In the subsequent 1962 Assembly elections he formed a coalition with the Democratic Rally of the Tahitian People.[2]

In 1966 he lost the Papeete mayoralty to an anti-nuclear candidate, Georges Pambrun.[10][11]

He was re-elected to the Assembly in the 1967 election.[12]

He did not run for re-election to the Senate in 1971, and was succeeded by Pouvanaa a Oopa.[1] He retired from politics in 1972.[2]

Honours

In 1952 he was awarded the Legion of Honour.[13] He was also a Commander of the Ordre national du Mérite and Officer of the Ordre des Palmes académiques.[1]

References

1. "POROI Alfred". Sénat. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
2. "1959-1977: L'autonomie « contenue »: Les parlementaires". Assemblée de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
3. "TAHITI RADIO CLUB Efforts to Attract Tourists". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. VI, no. 12. 21 July 1936. p. 55. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "PACIFIC NEWS-REVIEW". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XIII, no. 4. 17 November 1942. p. 1. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "M. Poroi's victory in Tahiti". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXIII, no. 7. 1 February 1953. p. 90. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
6. "Lively politics in Tahiti". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXIII, no. 10. 1 May 1953. p. 101. Retrieved 20 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
7. "WORK CEASES IN PAPEETE Tahiti Assembly Stoned: New Tax Hurriedly Repealed". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXVIII, no. 10. 1 May 1958. p. 14 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "All Quiet in French Islands But Prickly Problem Is Due Soon". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXIX, no. 1. 1 August 1958. p. 14. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "France Will Hear A New South Seas Voice". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. XXXIII, no. 5. 1 December 1962. p. 73. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
10. "NEW ANTI-BOMB MAYOR ELECTED IN PAPEETE". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 37, no. 11. 1 November 1966. p. 12. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
11. "MAYOR OF PAPEETE". The Press. 13 October 1966. p. 17. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via Papers Past.
12. "STRONG VOTE FOR AUTONOMY IN FRENCH POLYNESIA". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 38, no. 10. 1 October 1967. p. 25. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "Yesterday". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 43, no. 5. 1 May 1972. p. 73. Retrieved 3 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.