Louis Mapou (French pronunciation: [lwi mapu]; born 14 November 1958 in Yaté) is a Kanak politician who has served as the President of the Government of New Caledonia since 22 July 2021.[1] Mapou is New Caledonia's first native Kanak president since the position was established in 1999.
He is a member of the Palika, and was the president of National Union for Independence group in the Congress of New Caledonia from 2014 to 2021. Also he has also been a municipal councillor of Païta from 1995 to 1998 and since 2020.[2]
Mapou studied at university in Nantes and then in Paris in the 1980s. He was director-general of the Rural Development and Land Management Agency from 1998 to 2005. From 2005 to 2014, he was director of Eramet and chairman of the board of Koniambo Nickel.[2]
Mapou’s election into the office of President of the Government in the 2021 snap election was enforced by a panel of French judges, after the 2020 New Caledonian independence referendum and the following unrest resulting in five attempts to annul the formation of a pro-independence government.[3]