Marcel Oopa

Marcel Pouvanaa Oopa (21 April 1917 — 14 July 1961) was a Tahitian politician, the son of the Tahitian leader Pouvanaa a Oopa.[2][3] He belonged to the political party Democratic Rally of the Tahitian People (RDPT), led by his father.[4] Marcel Oopa was a carpenter by profession.[5]

Marcel Oopa
Marcel Oopa
Member of the French National Assembly
for French Polynesia
In office
20 July 1960 – 14 July 1961
Preceded byPouvanaa a Oopa
Succeeded byJohn Teariki
Personal details
Born21 April 1917[1]
Fare, French Polynesia[1]
Died14 July 1961(1961-07-14) (aged 44)[1]
Paris, France[1]
Political partyDemocratic Rally of the Tahitian People

Marcel Oopa joined the Pacific Battalion during the Second World War, and fought in North Africa. He fought at battle of Bir Hakeim and in military campaigns in Libya and Tunisia. Marcel Oopa received the croix de guerre medal as well as the Resistance Medal, French Liberation Medal and the Libya campaign medal.[3]

In 1950 Marcel Oopa took part in the first May Day celebrations in the history of French Polynesia, participating in military uniform.[4] In 1959 he became a councillor in the Leeward Islands, replacing his deceased uncle.[3]

In 1960 Marcel Oopa was elected to the French National Assembly from the French Polynesia seat in a by-election, after his imprisoned father had been deposed from his parliamentary seat. Marcel Oopa sat in the group 'Popular Republicans and Democratic Centre' (RPCD, the parliamentary faction of the Popular Republican Movement).[5][6]

Marcel Oopa died of cancer at the Tenon Hospital in Paris on July 14, 1961.[3] His father had been allowed to sit by his bed, after intense pressure from Tahitian on the French authorities.[7] Marcel Oopa's seat in the French National Assembly was temporarily filled by John Teariki, also from the RDPT.[2][8]

References
  1. "Marcel, Pouvanaa Oopa". Assemblée nationale. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  2. Denoon, Donald. The Cambridge History of the Pacific Islanders. Cambridge [England]: Cambridge University Press, 2004. p. 342
  3. Journal officiel de la République française, July 16, 1961
  4. Le syndicalisme en Polynésie française de 1852 à nos jours
  5. Notices et portraits des députés de la Ve République > Ie législature > M. Marcel Pouvanaa Oopa
  6. France - Assemblée Nationale et Gouvernement de la V République (depuis 1958)
  7. Kernahan, Mel. White Savages in the South Seas. London: Verso, 1995. p. 200
  8. Modifications à la composition de l'Assemblée nationale Archived 2009-07-25 at the Wayback Machine
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