Jean-Marie Tjibaou

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Jean-Marie Tjibaou (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ maʁi tʃibau]; January 30, 1936 – May 4, 1989^[1]) was a French politician in New Caledonia and leader of the Kanak independence movement. The son of a tribal chief, Tjibaou was ordained a Catholic priest but abandoned his religious vocation for a life in political activism. He was killed in 1989 at the age of 53.

During the 1970s, he undertook a thesis in ethnology at the Sorbonne. While he did not complete his studies, he became engaged in cultural and ethnicity issues on New Caledonia. In 1975 he arranged the Melanesia 2000 festival, which emphasized the Kanak identity.

He was appointed mayor of Hienghène in 1977 and, in 1979, he was made territorial councillor in the newly formed Independence Front, and the head of the pro-independence Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front in 1984.

His son, Emmanuel Tjibaou is also a kanak independentist - he became French MP in 2024.^[2]

On 4 May 1989, Tjibaou was shot dead along with Yeiwéné Yeiwéné [fr] in Ouvéa by another Kanak, Djubelly Wéa [fr].^[3] A cultural leader in the promotion of the indigenous Kanak culture, Wéa was shot dead by Tjibaou's bodyguards after the attack. Witnesses said other gunmen were involved.^[4]

The modern Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, is named in his honour.

• List of peace activists

• Tjibaou Cultural Center website

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