Christian Huetz de Lemps

"Words from Asia and the Pacific" is a series of interviews conducted by Jean-François Sabouret, Director of the Asie-Imasie Network (CNRS), with humanities researchers and experts on Asia and the Pacific.
Christian Huetz de Lemps is a French geographer who was born on 12 May 1938 in Charenton-le-Pont (94). While being a top-level sportsman, he continued his geography studies. In 1961, he was a member of the French volleyball team and that same year raked second at the "agrégation" competitive examination in Geography. After one year in Hawaii with a Rotary International scholarship, he returned periodically to this field, which will be that of his state docoral thesis , which he defended in Bordeaux in 1977.
He had taught at the University of Bordeaux III since 1964, and became a professor in 1979. Elected Director of the Geography department, member of the national council if universities (CNU), he created and managed seven cooperation agreements with universities in landlocked French-speaking sub-Saharan African countries.
He also conducts research on the history of geography and on the originality and diversity of the island worlds, from the island of Yeu to Puerto Rico, from the Solomon Islands to Samoa, and also the French overseas departments and territories. He headed the Institute of Geography and sat in its scientific council. Being a winner of a CNRS Bronze medal, he was made Commander of the Academic Palms in 1998. As a Professor emeritus at the University of Paris IV Sorbonne, he continued his work in historical geography on the Pacific islands.
An illustrated bibliographical selection is presented at the end of the film.