Geffry Salmon (born 1952) is a French Polynesian politician and former Cabinet Minister. He is a member of Tahoera'a Huiraatira.

Geffry Salmon
Member of the French Polynesian Assembly
for Windward Isles
Assumed office
17 May 2018
Personal details
Political partyTahoera'a Huiraatira

Salmon is a former chair of the board of telecommunications company OPT and chief executive of Air Tahiti Nui.[1][2]

In early 2009 he was arrested as part of a corruption investigation into state-owned telecommunications company OPT.[3] He was released in November 2009 after being detained for six months.[1] The case was eventually dismissed in 2019.[4]

He served as Environment Minister [5] and Tourism Minister in 2014.[6]

He headed Tahoera'a Huiraatira's list for the 2018 French Polynesian legislative elections after party leader Gaston Flosse was barred from public office after being convicted of corruption.[7][8] Despite heading the list, Tahoera'a refused to allow him to participate in election debates.[9] After being elected to the Assembly of French Polynesia, he was the party's candidate for president, but lost to Édouard Fritch, receiving only ten votes of 57.[10]

During the election campaign Salmon accused Fritch of vote-buying, and as a result was sued for defamation.[11] An initial conviction and fine of US$5,000[12][13] was subsequently overturned on appeal.[14][15]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Salmon wins release from Tahiti jail". RNZ. 18 November 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Air Tahiti Nui : le come back de Geffry Salmon" (in French). TourMag. 5 November 2004. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Flosse secretary detained by French police in Tahiti fraud probe". RNZ. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Tahiti's long-running OPT case closed". RNZ. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Plus de 80 carcasses de voitures traitées à Pirae" (in French). Ville de Pirae. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Tahiti Tourisme Launches New Global Brand Positioning and Identity". Luxury Travel Magazine. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Tahiti's Flosse blames Macron for court ruling". RNZ. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Geffry Salmon tête de liste du Tahoera'a : "je suis prêt à affronter des élections et y aller de manière raisonnée, tranquille…"" (in French). TNTV News. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  9. ^ "French Polynesian politicians scrapping over debate". RNZ. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Edouard Fritch is re-elected French Polynesia president". RNZ. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  11. ^ "French Polynesian president sues political rival". RNZ. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Tahiti's Salmon fined for defaming president". RNZ. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Geffry Salmon avait été condamné à 500 000 francs d'amende" (in French). actu.fr. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Salmon cleared in Tahiti defamation case". RNZ. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  15. ^ "La condamnation en diffamation de Geffry Salmon annulée en cassation" (in French). Tahiti Infos. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2022.