Putai Taae

Putai Taae
Mayor of Papara
In office 26 October 2015 – 7 May 2019
Preceded by	Christelle Lehartel
Succeeded by	Gaston Tunoa
Member of the French Polynesian Assembly for Windward Isles 2
In office 17 May 2018 – 30 April 2023
In office 17 May 2013 – 15 August 2017
Personal details
Born	1961[1]
Political party	Tahoera'a Huiraatira Tapura Huiraatira Tavini Huiraatira

Putai Taae (born 1961) is a French Polynesian politician and former Member of the Assembly of French Polynesia. He is a member of Tapura Huiraatira.

Taae first entered the Assembly of French Polynesia after the 2013 French Polynesian legislative election, as a replacement for Tearii Alpha who had been appointed to Cabinet.[2] In May 2015 he joined Tapura Huiraatira.[1] In October 2015 he was elected Mayor of Papara in a by-election[3] after the 2014 Papara municipal elections were annulled by the French Council of State.[4] He lost his seat in the Assembly in August 2017, when Nicole Sanquer left Cabinet after being elected to the French National Assembly.[5] He was re-elected to the Assembly as a Tapura candidate at the 2018 election.[6]

In April 2019 he was charged with breach of trust over the allocation of funds to a town association while mayor.[7][8] In May 2019 he was convicted and sentenced to a suspended jail sentence, a US$20,000 fine, and banned from holding public office for 2 years.[9][10] As a result he lost his position as Mayor, but stayed in the Assembly pending the resolution of his appeal.[11] In November 2021 the conviction was upheld on appeal, and he was resentenced to an identical sentence.[12] Taae appealed the sentence again, and so retained his seat in the Assembly.[13] In December 2021 the Papara municipal council was informed that Taae was being investigated for abuse of office while mayor.[14]

In September 2022 he briefly joined Tavini Huiraatira,[15] but returned to the Tapura in December[16] after opposition from Tavini activists.[17] He was not re-elected at the 2023 election

References

1. "Putai TAAE". Assemblée de la Polynésie française. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
2. "Le trombinoscope de la nouvelle Assemblée de Polynésie française" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
3. "Putai Taae est élu tavana de Papara" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
4. "Les électeurs de Papara devront repasser dans les isoloirs" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
5. "Putai Taae "déçu par des personnes qui n'ont pas tenu parole"" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 23 August 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
6. "Territoriales 2018 : Le nouveau visage de l'Assemblée" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
7. "Abus de confiance, prise illégale d'intérêts : Putai Taae sur la sellette" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
8. "French Polynesian mayor, wife, and others, face charges". RNZ. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
9. "Corruption conviction for Tahiti mayor and assembly member". RNZ. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
10. "Condamné, Putai Taae perd tous ses mandats" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 7 May 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
11. "Putai Taae va rester à l'assemblée malgré sa condamnation" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
12. "Putai Taae condamné, mais…" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
13. "Putai Taae forme de nouveau un pourvoi en cassation" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
14. "Putai Taae visé par une enquête pour "immixtion dans une fonction publique"" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 6 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
15. "Putai Taae rejoint le Tavini" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
16. "Putai Taae retourne au Tapura" (in French). TNTV. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
17. "Probité : Le cas Puta'i Taa'e secoue le Tavini" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2022.