Jean-Guy Talamoni

Jean-Guy Talamoni
Ghjuvan’Guidu Talamoni
President of the Corsican Assembly
In office 17 December 2015 – 1 July 2021
Preceded by	Dominique Bucchini
Succeeded by	Marie-Antoinette Maupertuis
President of Corsica Libera
In office 1 February 2009 – 1 July 2021
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Josepha Giacometti
President of Corsica Nazione Indipendente
In office 7 November 2004 – 1 February 2009
President of Unione Naziunale
In office 1 February 2004 – 1 February 2009
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
President of Corsica Nazione
In office 8 January 1992 – 1 February 2004
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	6 May 1960 (age 64) Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, France
Political party	Corsica Libera
Alma mater	University of Corsica Pasquale Paoli (DEA) University of Provence

Jean-Guy Talamoni (Corsican: Ghjuvan’Guidu Talamoni; born 6 May 1960) is a Corsican politician and Corsican nationalist, who was President of the Corsican Assembly from 17 December 2015 to 1 July 2021.^[1] He previously served as leader of the Corsica Nazione electoral group in the Corsican assembly.

Born in Saumur to a Corsican father and a Spanish mother, Talamoni and his family moved to Morosaglia when he was only one year old. Talamoni became involved in the Corsican liberation struggle at a young age, attending meetings of the militant Action for Corsican Rebirth (Azione per a Rinascita Corsa, ARC) with his parents when he was a child. At the age of fifteen, Talamoni attended Edmond Simeoni’s ARC meeting announcing the beginning of the Aleria Standoff. A year later, at the age of sixteen, Talamoni joined a Corsican nationalist student union. It was there where he likely became involved in the armed struggle of the National Liberation Front of Corsica, but like Gerry Adams and the Provisional IRA, Talamoni has often rejected his involvement in any armed conflict. In 1988, Talamoni was certified as a lawyer, and becomes head of A Cuncolta Naziunalista’s “law and institutions” sector. In 1992, Talamoni became president of the Corsica Nazione coalition in the Corsican Assembly. Talamoni became a controversial figure in 1999 due to his stances during the Matignon accords. In 2004, Talamoni became leader of Unione Naziunale, a new Corsican nationalist coalition. In April 2004, Talamoni was arrested by French police as part of a large operation against the FLNC-Union of Combatants, but he was released soon after. He was charged in 2005 for terrorism, but acquitted after the criminal court found a fair trial to be “nearly impossible” due to the tense political climate of the Corsican conflict. In 2015, Talamoni became president of the Corsican Assembly under an electoral alliance with the Corsican autonomist Femu a Corsica party.