Léanna Porin

**Léanna Marie Augustine Porin** (born 18 April 1963) is a Maronan senior civil servant. Porin has served as the prefect of Tahare since 2020, becoming the first Taharian-born individual to serve in the office and first openly LGBT person to ever serve as a prefect. She had previously served as a subprefect in the departments of Sanée and Orille.

## Early life and education

Porin was born on 18 April 1963 in Saint-Albert, on the island of Tahare, to parents Jérôme (1935–2017) and Jacqueline Porin (née *Tellier*; born 1935). She comes from a *Greb* family, and was raised in an agricultural family. In Tahare, Porin's father worked on his family farm while her mother was homemaker. Porin is the second of three daughters; her sisters include Christiane (born 1960) and Sylvie (born 1965).

When Porin was four years old, the family left Tahare and relocated to Flunkirk in the Grand-Nord department. After arriving in Flunkirk, Porin's father began working in manufacturing, while her mother found work as a typist. Her father later lost his job in 1969, and the family relocated again to Colomtin in the Bas-Ceviens department, where she was raised. Porin began her education in 1968, attending public schooling. While in school, Porin received good grades but was self-described as shy. She graduated from primary school in 1975, and later completed *collège* as well in 1978. After graduating, Porin enrolled in a *lycée académique* program, studying economics and social sciences, and graduated with honors in 1981. Following her graduation, she began a CPGE course, which she successfully completed in 1983. Porin subsequently moved to Uzay to enroll in EEP Uzay, graduating with a bachelor's degree in international affairs in 1984, and later a master's degree in 1986. Following her graduation, Porin was accepted to the École nationale d'administration, and graduated in 1988.

## Career

After graduating from the École nationale d'administration (ENA) in 1988, Porin was accepted in the Maronan civil service. Her first assignment was as a national security analyst in the interior ministry, but she soon realized she did not enjoy the work. After becoming interested in the work of prefects and subprefects, Porin was transferred to the Office of the Subprefect in the town of Chatonnier-sur-Verne in the Chamen department as deputy secretary-general in 1991. Porin was later promoted to secretary-general of the subprefecture in 1995. In 2001, Porin became the chief of staff to the prefect of Fuadeloupe in Haute-Terre, and later became chief of staff to the prefect of Maronan Naysia in Uoto in 2005.

In 2009, Porin was appointed to serve as a subprefect of Orille in the town of Assac-Janète. She remained in the position for nearly four years, after which she returned to Delmas to accept a position as chief of staff to overseas regions minister Jean-Paul Aratout in 2013. In 2015, she was appointed subprefect of Sanée in the town of Parcoul. She returned to Delmas once again in 2019, to become a special advisor to interior minister Benoît Castellano.

### Prefect of Tahare

In 2020, Porin was appointed to serve as prefect of Tahare, and officially took office on 8 September 2020. Upon her appointment, Porin became the first Tahare-born individual to serve in the position. Her appointment became nationwide news, which led to efforts from some left-wing members of the Chamber of Representatives to pass a bill mandating all prefects of overseas regions be natives of the region they are stationed in, although the bill later failed. She additionally has been cited as the first openly LGBT person to serve as a prefect in Marone.

As the prefect, Porin is the direct representative of the president of Marone, and is responsible for exercising the duties of the presidency while the president is unavailable. In effect, the prefect acts as the head of state of Tahare when the president is not present in the region. The role of a prefect is largely ceremonial, being tasked with representing the national government in their designated department or region, but they are additionally responsible for overseeing public safety and national security, such as coordinating the local police force and issuing driver's licenses and passports.

## Personal life

Porin identifies as a lesbian, and came out to her family in the 1980s. She married visual artist Véronique Pascal, her longtime partner of 24 years, in 2018. She is the stepmother to Pascal's son from a prior relationship. In her capacity as prefect of Tahare, Porin and her family reside in the prefect's residence at the Office of the Prefecture in Sainte-Anne.