[4][5] After gaining a qualification in teaching Tahitian he worked as a court interpreter and then for the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française as a television host.
In 1979 he created the Artistic Conservatory of French Polynesia to promote traditional arts and culture.
[8] He stood unsuccessfully for the National Assembly in the 1978 French legislative election, losing to Gaston Flosse.
[10] Shortly before the 1982 French Polynesian legislative election he founded the Social Democrat party with Frantz Vanizette, but gained only 2.8% of the vote.
[8] In September 1991 he was appointed Minister of Social Affairs, Employment, and Labour in the government of Gaston Flosse.