Maurice Ponga

{{Short description|French politician (born 1947)}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Maurice Ponga | honorific_suffix = | image = Maurice_Ponga.jpg | alt = Maurice Ponga a member of European Parliament for Overseas France | caption =  | constituency_MP = [[Overseas Territories of France (European Parliament constituency)|Overseas Territories]] | parliament = European | majority = | term_start = {{start date|2009}} | term_end = [[2019 European Parliament election|2019]] | predecessor = [[Margie Sudre]] | successor = | prior_term =  | pronunciation = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|06|05}} | birth_place = [[Kouaoua]], [[New Caledonia]] | death_date =  | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | citizenship = [[French nationality law|French]] | party = [[The Rally–UMP|The Rally]] | other_party =  | spouse = | partner =  | relations = [[Alcide Ponga]] (nephew) | children = | alma_mater = | occupation = | profession = | committees = | portfolio = | signature = | signature_alt = | website = }} '''Maurice Ponga''' (born 5 June 1947 in [[Kouaoua]], [[New Caledonia]]) is a French politician who served as a [[Member of the European Parliament]] (MEP) from 2009 until 2019. He was elected in the [[2009 European Parliament election in France|2009 European election]] for the [[Overseas Territories of France (European Parliament constituency)|Overseas]] constituency.

==Political career== Ponga is a [[Melanesians|Melanesian]] ([[Kanak people|Kanak]]), but unlike most Kanaks, he opposes New Caledonia's independence from [[France]] and is a member of [[The Rally-UMP]], a major anti-independence party. He has represented the party, known as RPCR until 2002, in the [[Congress of New Caledonia]] between 1995 and 2009. While in office, he participated in all but one New Caledonian government. Most recently, as Minister of Youth and Sports in the [[Harold Martin (New Caledonian politician)|Martin II]] government, he played a major role in the success of [[Noumea]]'s bid for the 2011 [[Pacific Games]].

In the 2009 European elections, Ponga was the UMP's candidate in the Pacific Section of the Overseas constituency, and his candidacy was locally supported by all anti-independence parties. The UMP won one seat in the constituency with 29.7% of the votes, and since the UMP obtained its highest result in the Pacific Section (44.4%), Ponga was elected to the [[European Parliament]]. He is the second New Caledonian and second Kanak to serve as an MEP, after [[Dick Ukeiwé]] (also a member of the RPCR), who served between 1989 and 1994.

In the Republicans’ [[2017 The Republicans (France) leadership election|2017 leadership election]], Ponga endorsed [[Laurent Wauquiez]].<ref>Ludovic Vigogne (October 11, 2017), [https://www.lopinion.fr/edition/politique/liste-136-parrains-laurent-wauquiez-135723 La liste des 136 parrains de Laurent Wauquiez] ''[[L'Opinion (French newspaper)|L'Opinion]]''.</ref>

==Recognition== In 2019, Ponga was the winner of the Development Award at ''The Parliament Magazine'''s annual [[The Parliament Magazine#The MEP Awards|MEP Awards]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/event-coverage/mep-awards-2019-heartfelt-reactions-our-winners|title=MEP Awards 2019: Heartfelt reactions from our winners|last=Hutchinson|first=Lorna|date=21 March 2019|work=[[The Parliament Magazine]]|accessdate=13 August 2019}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ponga, Maurice}} [[Category:1947 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from North Province, New Caledonia]] [[Category:Kanak people]] [[Category:The Rally (New Caledonia) politicians]] [[Category:Union for a Popular Movement MEPs]] [[Category:The Republicans (France) MEPs]] [[Category:MEPs for the Overseas Territories of France 2009–2014]] [[Category:MEPs for the Overseas Territories of France 2014–2019]] [[Category:Black French politicians]]