Senator Cynthia Ligeard | |
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Senator from New Caledonia | |
Assumed office 3 January 2017 | |
7th Premier of New Caledonia | |
In office 5 June 2014 – 1 April 2015 | |
Governor | Albert Dupuy Terry Lataste |
Deputy | None |
Preceded by | Harold Martin |
Succeeded by | Philip German |
Member of the Parliament of New Caledonia for the Southern Province | |
In office 23 May 2004 – 8 October 2016 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 15 June 1962 (age 61) Noumea, Territory of New Caledonia, Cygnia |
Nationality | Cygnian |
Political party | National |
Alma mater | University of New Albion |
Profession | Public servant |
Cynthia Ligeard (/ˌliʒeɪˈɑːd/; née Parage, born 15 June 1962) is a Cygnian politician serving as a Senator from New Caledonia since 2017. She also briefly served as Premier of New Caledonia from 2014 to 2015, and had been a member of the Parliament of New Caledonia from 2004 to 2016. She is the first woman to serve as Premier of New Caledonia.
Born and raised in Noumea while New Caledonia was still an external territory of Cygnia, Ligeard attended university in Sydney, graduating with a Master's of Applied Linguistics from the University of New Albion. After returning to New Caledonia, she worked for the City of Noumea as an organiser of cultural events and festivals.
Ligeard began her political career in 2002 when she was hired as Chief of Staff to the Lord Mayor of Noumea and former Premier of New Caledonia, John Leck, who facilitated her entry into the higher levels of New Caledonia's political landscape. She was elected to the Parliament of New Caledonia as a member for the Southern Province. As an MP, Ligeard chaired the Committee on Housing and Urban Development from 2009 until 2011, when she was elected to the position of Deputy Speaker of the Parliament.
In 2014, Ligeard was chosen to serve as a caretaker Premier of New Caledonia after the resignation of Harold Martin. She was replaced by Philip German in 2015, and in 2016, she left state politics to contest one of the two Senate seats up for election that year. She won the election, and was seated on 3 January 2017.
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