The son of a tribal chief, Tjibaou was ordained a Catholic priest but abandoned his religious vocation for a life in political activism.
While he did not complete his studies, he became engaged in cultural and ethnicity issues on New Caledonia.
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.
[4] The modern Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, is named in his honour.