Marie-Angéline Domeur

**Marie-Angéline Héloïse Domeur** (née **Vétin**; born 17 July 1941) is a Maronan former politician who served as the mayor of Sainte-Jeanne from 1986 to 1998. A member of the Republican Party, Domeur was the wife of Christophe Domeur, and is the mother of Jean-Pierre, Antoine, and Paulette Domeur.

Domeur was born in Sainte-Anne to a middle-class family. After completing her secondary education in 1959, Domeur graduated from the University of Tahare with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1962, and later received a master's degree from the university in political sociology in 1978. Following her marriage in 1963, Domeur was a housewife and homemaker, who supported her husband's political career in public appearances. She later began a political career of her own in 1980, after being elected to the municipal council of Sainte-Jeanne in the 1980 municipal election.

Domeur was chosen to lead the right-wing electoral alliance in Sainte-Jeanne in the 1986 municipal election, which the alliance went on to win. As a result, Domeur became the mayor of Sainte-Jeanne, the first woman to serve in this office; additionally, Domeur was the first woman to serve as mayor of one of the three most-populous communes in Tahare. As mayor, Domeur maintained high approval ratings, partially due to the high approval ratings of her husband, who served as president of Tahare, while governing as a center-right liberal conservative. Domeur was reelected in 1992, before losing her reelection campaign in 1998. Domeur served out the remainder of her term as a municipal legislator, before retiring from politics in 2004.

## Early life and education

Domeur was born on 17 July 1941 in Sainte-Anne, on the island of Tahare then-located in the Maronan colony of the Vorellian Islands, to parents Henri (1916–1999) and Anne-Béatrice Vétin (née *Plouncke*; 1919–2017). Her father was born in Tahare and worked as a civil servant, while her mother was a homemaker who came from a family that originated in Nord. Domeur was raised as the second of three daughters; her sisters included Sabine (1940–2019) and Françoise (born 1943).

Domeur began her education in 1946, attending public schooling in Sainte-Anne. When she was nine years old, the family relocated to Sainte-Jeanne, where Domeur continued her education and spent the remainder of her upbringing. Domeur graduated from primary school in 1953, and afterwards completed *collège* in 1956. After graduating, Domeur enrolled in a *lycée académique* program in Sainte-Jeanne to study economics and social sciences, and graduated with honors in 1959. Domeur subsequently enrolled in the University of Tahare, and received a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1962. She returned to her education in 1975, and later received a master's degree in political sociology in 1978.

## Personal life

Domeur began a relationship with politician Christophe Domeur in 1961, after having met at a candy shop in Sainte-Jeanne. They later married in 1963, following a two-year relationship. Marie-Angéline and Christophe had three children together: Jean-Pierre (born 1964), Antoine (born 1968), and Paulette (born 1970). Christophe later died in 2015, following a two-year long bout with lung cancer.

Domeur has resided in Saint-Pierre since 2007. In 2021, she relocated to a retirement community in Saint-Pierre. Domeur identifies as a Eurean Catholic, while she is fluent in Maronan, Taharian Creole, and Ditrovian.