Teuira's predecessor, Gaston Flosse, was the first President of French Polynesia, and the head of Teuira's political party, the pro-autonomy Tahoera'a Huiraatira.[3] In February 1987, Flosse resigned from the presidency in order to become the first, and only, French state secretary in charge of Pacific affairs.[4] Flosse chose Jacky Teuira as his handpicked successor as President over his longtime protégé, Alexandre Léontieff.[4][5] Teuira was sworn in as President of French Polynesia on 12 February 1987.
Teuira's administration in French Polynesia would last less than a year. Léontieff responded to be passed over for the presidency by forming a majority coalition in the Assembly of French Polynesia with others politicians opposed to Flosse and Teuira. The move forced Teuira to resign as President of French Polynesia in December 1987.[6]
^ ab"Flosse's promotion proves too Much". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 58, no. 5. 1 May 1987. p. 28. Retrieved 2 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^Robert Aldrich (1993). France and the South Pacific since 1940. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 293.
^"Leontieff FP President". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 59, no. 1. 1 January 1988. p. 25. Retrieved 2 February 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
