Joseph Quesnot

Joseph Quesnot (25 September 1895—31 March 1949) was a French politician who served as the first president of the Assembly of French Polynesia, and as a Senator.

Quesnot was born in Béziers and educated at the Lycée Vaucanson, though he did not complete his studies. He moved to Tahiti, where he worked as an accountant, and as director of an import-export company. He served as a municipal councillor in Papeete from 1933 to 1935, and as head of the chamber of commerce from 1933 to 1937. He was elected to the Assembly of French Polynesia in 1945, and elected its first president in March 1946. In December 1946 he was elected to the French Senate.

He died at sea of a heart attack aboard the SS Eridan in 1949 while returning to France. A street in Papeete was later named after him.