Anerood Jugnauth
Encyclopedia
Sir Anerood Jugnauth KCMG
, QC
, GCSK
, PC, LLB
, GOLH
, GOP
, ORS
is the President of Mauritius
and all its dependencies. He is the Commander in Chief and Head of state incumbent since 2003 following his election in 2003 and 2008.
He served as prime minister from 1982 to 1995 in four consecutive terms and then was voted out of office from 1995 to 2000. He was the prime minister who held the office for the longest run, one of 16 years, overtaking Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
, who held the office for 14 years. As leader of the Militant Socialist Movement
, he became prime minister again, after the 2000 elections
, for his fifth term. His alliance partner, Paul Bérenger
of the Mauritian Militant Movement
, succeeded him in 2003 after serving as Jugnauth's deputy for three years. Jugnauth was then elected president in 2003. He was a Member of Parliament
for 35 years, from 1963 to 1995 and from 2000 to 2003. Often nicknamed as Rambo
(a film character known to be unbeatable), in Mauritian politics, he is known as such for his personality as he is the only prime minister who won 4 general parliamentary elections in a row, those in 1982, 1983, 1987, 1991.
He was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn
. He was a cabinet minister during the leadership of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
from 1965 up to 1969. In 1970, he moved out and went to the newly created political party of the Mauritian Militant Movement
, where he eventually became its leader in 1982. He created his own political party called Militant Socialist Movement
in 1983 and was once more elected. His party remained in power up to 1995. In 2000, he was once more elected prime minister and served until 2003, when he was sworn into the presidency. From the beginning of his first mandate as Prime Minister he expressed his country's readiness to establish strong economic ties, particularly in creating technology-based projects with economic feasibility. Jugnauth is credited with the legacy of Mauritius’ "economic miracle" of the 1980s - a set of policies such as the revitalization of the duty-free trade zone and establishing Mauritius as a leader in textiles production - which allowed the island to develop an economic presence in the region.
He founded the Militant Socialist Movement
party in 1983. He was elected as prime minister in 1982 for the first time, again in 1983, and for the third time from 1991 to 1995. He was honoured with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards for his continued support for India's causes and concerns and for strengthening India's relationship with Mauritius. He has expressed his country's readiness to establish strong economic ties, particularly in creating technology-based projects He was elected in 2000 to his final tenure as Prime Minister up to 2003 where he retired from his office.
He was made Queen's Counsel
in 1980 and was made a member Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council in 1983. He was Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
in 1988 when the Republic was still a Commonwealth Realm
and when the Queen acted as Head of State. Therefore he still uses his Formal title as Sir and also the prefix The Right Honorable.
In 2010, his political party, the Militant Socialist Movement
, formed a coalition with the Mauritian Labour Party
and won the general elections held on the 5 May 2010. Following the elections, his son Pravind Jugnauth
leader of the Militant Socialist Movement
became Vice Prime Minister
holding the office of Minister of Finance.
In the beginning of the 1970s, Jugnauth joined the Mauritian Militant Movement
. He became the president and subsequently the leader of the party. Re-elected at the general election held in 1976 in the constituency of Piton/Rivière du Rempart, he served as Leader of the Opposition from December 1976 to June 1982.
Jugnauth trained and worked in law and took an active role in the 1960s negotiations for independence. Hewas called to the Bar in London in 1954. His political career began with his being elected in the Constituency of Rivière du Rempart in 1963. He was the President of the Palma Village council in 1964. He became Leader of Opposition from December 1976 to June 1982, and he joined the Mauritian Militant Movement
in 1970.
He joined the All Mauritius Hindu Congress in 1965. State Minister for Development in the government of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam from 1965 to 1966, he was promoted Minister of Labour in November 1966. He took part in the London Constitutional Conference on Mauritius. He resigned from his office in April 1967. In 1970 there was the political split of Independence Party and his All Hindu Congress Party,his party was dissolved in the thought of making Communal elections .With this the Muslim Action Committee known as the CAM was also dissolved .
, and the Muslim Action Committee; Mauritian Social Democrat Party
(PMSD) led by Gaëtan Duval; and the Mauritian Militant Movement
(MMM) led by Paul Bérenger
and Anerood Jugnauth himself. About 460 100 voters of the 0.8 million inhabitants of Mauritius registered, and 88% (404 918) of them actually voted. The election was closely fought, and no party was able to gain a majority of parliamentary seats (see 1976 Legislative Assembly election results). The MMM received most votes, 38.64%, but gained only 34 seats, two short of an absolute majority. The Independence Party (MLP and CAM) gained 37.90% and 28 seats, while the PMSD received 16.20% of the votes and eight seats. By once more forming a coalition with the PMSD, Ramgoolam managed to stay in power, but with a majority of only two seats in the Assembly.
Jugnauth in alliance with Paul Berenger
became the kings of politics in the island.Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
ruled over the house of parliament with only two seats over the others. The Independence Alliance occupied 36 seats while MMM became opposition with 34 seats. Anerood Jugnauth was appointed as Leader of Opposition and he remained to the place until next general elections in 1982.
had formed an alliance with Harish Boodhoo's Parti Socialiste Mauricien known as PSM. Anerood Jugnauth hoped that this alliance would draw Hindu votes away from the MLP and ensure a MMM victory.
The election resulted in a landslide victory for the MMM-PSM alliance (formed by Jugnauth & Berenger in early 1981), which won 64.16% of the vote and all 60 elected seats (42 by the MMM, 18 by the PSM, and two for the allied Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais) (for more detail see 1982 Legislative Assembly election results). Voter turn-out was 87.3%, with 471 196 out of an electorate of 540 000 casting their votes for the 34 parties contesting 62 seats. The LP, which had dominated Mauritian politics since 1948, won no seats and (together with the Muslim Action Committee) only 25.78% of the vote. The PMSD did even worse, receiving only 7.79% of the vote. The LP and the PMSD each did eventually receive two seats in parliament under the best-loser provisions.
Anerood Jugnauth became Prime Minister for the first time, Boodhoo Deputy Prime Minister, and Paul Bérenger
Minister of Finance.
Jugnauth swept to power in 1982 in a dramatic election in which his MMM-PSM alliance won all seats in the Legislative Assembly. When he took the office, the country was wrecked by chronic unemployment, rapidly rising inflation and the infinite expectations of a volatile and highly politicized electorate. Within months of his election victory, he saw his massive and unassailable majority collapsing before his eyes as his political party tore itself apart through bitter in-fighting over personality and policy. He presided over the country's rapid industrialization. In late 1982, the two party leaders, Harish Boodhoo and Paul Berenger were both wanting absolute power over the Alliance, this led to their break up where the MMM & PSM became apart. Jugnauth who was thinking of a new political strategy was expected to resolve the issue but to everybody's surprise, he let both parties go apart.
With this Paul Berenger
begun war by saying that Jugnauth had no right to control the MMM as he was not leader but only a member.
This led to internal fights inside the MMM. Jugnauth being Prime Minister announced general elections in 1983 again. This time he was not a Candidate for the MMM but he proposed to Boodhoo of dissolving the PSM to make a new more stronger Party called the MSM (Militant Socialist Movement
).He created the MSM and in Alliance with the Mauritian Labor Party went to the general elections together trying to fight against Paul Berenger
and his MMM.
Almost from the beginning, the governing alliance was rent by serious differences, partly of a personal nature but also over Bérenger's stringent economic policies and his attempt to make Creole the national language (despite the Indian descent of the majority of the population). In March 1983, the government collapsed when the dominant faction within the MMM [Mouvement Militant Mauricien], led by Bérenger, split from Jugnauth's leadership and resigned from the cabinet.
(MSM). However, the new government lacked a majority in the legislative assembly, and Jugnauth was obliged to dissolve the assembly in June. New elections were set for August 1993.Re-elected at the general elections held on 23 August 1983, Jugnauth was re-elected as prime minister The MMM fought the election alone. Jugnauth's MSM formed a new coalition - called the Alliance - with the Labour Party and the PMSD [Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate], the very parties that only a year ago had been ousted from power by the MMM, which was then led by Jugnauth.
The popular vote was very close (for detail see 1983 Legislative Assembly election results). The MMM received 209 845 votes (46.4%) - the highest proportion of the vote ever received by a single party in any Mauritian election. The Alliance received 236 146 votes (52.22%); independents and the Rodrigues parties got the remaining 1.38% and two seats. Of the 552 800 registered voters, 452 221 (81.8%) had voted. When seats were distributed, however, the Alliance held a substantial majority - 46 to the 22 received by the MMM. The disproportionate weighting of seats reflects the fact that MMM votes were concentrated in urban constituencies where large numerical majorities won only three seats, whereas the Alliance swept the rural constituencies where Hindus predominated. The election was a personal victory for Jugnauth and something of a comeback for Duval, who became deputy prime minister, and Ramgoolam, who was named Governor-General shortly after.
Commenting on the MMM's fourteen months in power and the outcome of the 1983 election, Bowman (1991, 87) remarks that Mauritius worked itself "through a tumultuous political period in an orderly, constitutional way, without violence. Prominent leaders left power gracefully and allowed other parties and individuals to accede to leadership roles." And whereas the MMM had been historically viewed as a more radical party than the MLP, once in power it actually provided considerable continuity of leadership.
Parliament was dissolved on 3 July, and the election date set for 30 August 1987, one year ahead of schedule. Campaigning started on 22 July 1987. The campaign was fought intensely but with less bitterness and blatant communal hostility than had been the case in the past. Jugnauth's Alliance fought the election with his MSM [Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien], Duval's MPSD [Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate], and both major factions of the MLP, the one led by Satcam Boolell and the RTM. The MMM allied itself with two small parties, the Mouvement Travailliste Démocrat (RTD) and the Front des Travailleurs Socialiste (FTS). A total of 639 488 voters were registered (approximately 60% of the total population) and of these, 546 623 (85.5%) cast their votes. A total of 359 candidates ran for the 62 elected seats. The ballot, like the electoral campaign, was held in an impassioned atmosphere, but there were no serious incidents. During the election campaign, the ruling MSM/MLP/PMSD alliance was known as the Sun (Soleil) and the opposing Union (composed of MMM/MTD/FTS) as the Heart (Coeur) after their respective emblems.
While overall participation of voters in the polling amounted to 85.5%, it ran up to 93% in some constituencies. The average size of the multimember constituencies was around 30 000. As in previous elections, the MMM and its partners received the highest percentage of votes, 48.12%, of which a small percentage can be attributed to its two small partners (see 1987 Legislative Assembly election results for more detail). It won 21 seats, comprising 19 of the 30 urban seats, and only two of the 30 rural seats. The Alliance (MSM/PMSD/MLP) won a total of 49.86% and 39 seats. After the best-loser seats were allocated, the Alliance held 46 seats to the MMM's 24. The two seats of the Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais helped to raise those of the Alliance to 46.
The outcome of the election highlighted an anomaly of the electoral system. A mere 1.7% of the votes cast separated the two political alliances, but in terms of seats the gap was 36.6 percentage points. The opposition called for electoral reforms, but the winning alliance was quite happy with things as they stood. The outcome of the 1991 general election added further impetus to demands for reform.
The MSM had drawn its main support from the Hindu community (52% of the total population), particularly from the numerically dominant Vaishya caste, which included Jugnauth among its members. The MSM was also favoured by the economically dominant Chinese and Franco-Mauritian communities. The MMM's support was concentrated in the Muslim Indian community (17% of the total population), in sections of the Creole community (27%) and in the lower Hindu castes, particularly those of southern Mauritius disaffected with Vaishya dominance in the north. Of the smaller ruling parties, the MLP also represented higher-caste Hindus, while the PMSD was strong in the Creole community. Jugnauth was once more elected with a majority in the Parliament and was once more elected as Prime Minister and took office for his 3rd term.
Only four best-loser seats were allocated and went to small parties with little national influence - two to the Mouvement Ridriguais in Rodrigues island and the other two respectively to the Hizbullah Party and the Parti Gaëtan Duval (PGD, formerly the PMSD). The best-loser system clearly encourages communal politics. A close analysis of voting patterns reveals that people voted largely according to communal divisions. The Islamist Hizbullah Party, one of the newer parties, had exploited the voting system by appealing to a very narrow section of the population and managed to secure a best-loser seat. The crushing defeat of the MSM-RMM alliance was partly due to the practice of communal politics; both parties were headed by Hindus and therefore failed to attract non-Hindu supporters.
The vast majority of Creoles and the Muslims voted for the LP-MMM alliance, while the Hindu voters were split between the two opposing political camps. Another reason was that voters, even though they acknowledged the economic progress made under successive Jugnauth governments, apparently wanted change for the sake of change. Anerood Jugnauth stood as candidate at the by-election held in constituency No. 9 (Flacq/Bon Acceuil) in April 1998 but was defeated. He immediately initiated the idea of an MSM/MMM federation which eventually took shape in January 1999. However, the Federation was dissolved after the defeat of its candidate at the by-election held on 19 September 1999.
Jugnauth founded the MSM/MMM Alliance together with Paul Bérenger, leader of the MMM, on 14 August 2000, based on equal sharing of power. At the general elections held on 11 September 2000, he was elected as first member of constituency No 7 (Piton/Rivière du Rempart) and was appointed as Prime Minister.
of the Mauritian Labor Party (PTr), led a coalition with Xavier Luc Duval
, the leader of the Parti Mauricien Xavier Duval (PMXD). Duval was Minister of Finance in the previous government alliance formed in mid-1999. The other alliance was formed (for the fourth time) between Sir Anerood Jugnauth (MSM) and Paul Bérenger (MMM). The MSM sought to appeal to the Hindu community while the MMM tried to base its membership from across the spectrum in Mauritius.
On 15 August 2000, the leaders of these two parties as well several other leaders from much smaller parties signed what they termed a 'historical electoral accord'. The most outstanding aspect of this accord was the proposed sharing of the prime ministerial post between MSM leader Sir Anerood Jugnauth and MMM leader Paul Bérenger. Under this arrangement, Jugnauth would hold the post of prime minister for the first three years and Bérenger for the remaining two years. After surrendering the premiership to Bérenger, Jugnauthwould be called to assume the function of President of the Republic after reforms to strengthen of the presidency, which was largely a symbolic post. The MSM/MMM alliance argued that this reform was necessary because the prime minister held too much power in Mauritius, including the right to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections. They charged that this system created the opportunity for abuse. They illustrated this by recalling that Dr Ramgoolam dissolved parliament on 10 August 2000, issued the writs of election on the same day, fixed the nomination day for 26 August 2000 and the poll day for 11 September 2000, leaving the opposition only 32 days to organise. The accord also provided for a reform of the electoral system to replace the "best losers system" gradually by proportional representation, and to end the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation's (MBC) monopoly over the electronic media. In addition to sharing the post of prime minister, what made the MSM/MMM electoral accord exceptional was the fact that it would allow, for the first time in the history of the island, a non-Hindu Mauritian to become the Prime Minister. The elections took place on 11 September 2000 with a total of 80.87% of registered voters casting their ballots. The MSM/MMM alliance won a resounding victory with 54 of the directly elected seats.
In early 1999 when the Labor Party and MMM decided to end up their team, MMM became the opposition party and MLP formed the government.Sir Anerood Jugnauth then initiated the idea of the "Medpoint Deal"The MSM
led by Anerood Jugnauth and MMM
led by Paul Bérenger
agreed that if they won the election Anerood Jugnauth would become Prime Minister. They agreed that after 3 years he would step down as Prime Minister to become the President of Mauritius with enhanced powers and Bérenger would become Prime Minister, the first non-Hindu to do so. The idea was both agreed by the MSM members and MMM members.It was agreed that Paul Berenger
would remain Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Finance for 3 years up to 2003 and after that would take up the leadership of both parties becoming prime minister for the rest of the term thus up to 2005.He was prime minister for 21 months. They formed up the MSM/MMM
in 2000.
Jugnauth agreed to step down and become President as from 2003. Former president Karl Offmann
was also of the game. He was put to the office of the president with the condition that he would remain president only for 19 months. Jugnauth became president under the transition with the so-called "sudden" resignation of President Offmann.
Jugnauth resigned as prime minister on 30 September 2003 at 13:30 pm and also as member of parliament at 15:00 pm, giving his resignation letter to Speaker of the House on the same day. He announced his departure in a 20-minute speech given to the members of parliament stating that he was leaving the office so as to make room for new prime ministers.
He was sworn to presidency on 7 October 2003 following the resignation of former President Karl Offmann
.
Another business in the hands of Jugnauth was the Score Jumbo hyper market, considered to be the strongest selling market in the island.
on 18 December 1957, and he is the father of two children: Pravind
and Shalini. Pravind is the ex Minister of Finance of the Country and serves as a Member of Parliament
for the Constituency Moka & Quartier Militaire
. Pravind is the leader of the Militant Socialist Movement and is married to Kobita Ramdanee. Jugnauth's daughter, Shalini, is also married.
Jugnauth is the grandfather to five grandchildren: Anusha, Divya, Sonika, Sonali and Sara.
took over the keys of the Chateau of Reduit on the 7 October 2003. His election to presidency was largely approved by the entire population as it was considered to be the new era of Mauritian Politics, allowing Paul Berenger
to become prime minister who was the first person of non-Hindu religion to become head of government.
In 2003, he handed the leadership of his party to his son Pravind Jugnauth. He announced that he had "reached the end of this road". During his first Mandate, due to constitution, he had to announce general elections, which eventually took place in July 2005. The new prime minister elected Navin Ramgoolam
,
called him "a sitting duck" who is still yearning for power. He remained president until the end of his 5-year term, ending in 2008.
over the islanders' plight. The Chagos Islands, a British colony in the Indian Ocean, were leased to the US in the 1960s to build a military base.The residents were forced out, and the government says they cannot return, but have been granted UK citizenship. Many of the residents now live in poverty in Mauritius, or as refugees in the UK. The American base was built on the large island of Diego Garcia within the Chagos archipelago. Mauritius claims the islands as part of its territory, and Jugnauth claimed his country was forced by the British to accept the Chagossians as a condition for independence.
and his party, the Labour Party
, his present ally. In 1987 elections, late Sir Satcam Boolell, then leader of the Labours did not approve the coalition between Jugnauth's MSM, Duval's PMSD and their parties. This led to their official break up in 1988 but 11 members of parliament continued to support the MSM and thus broke the Labour Party in two blocks.
Jugnauth managed to keep a working majority and once again remained Prime Minister until 1991 when he calls for new elections The MSM made an alliance with the MMM and one block of the broken Labour Party namely the Democratic Labour Movement (MTD), led by Anil Baichoo, a minister which recently merged again with the Labours.
The 1991 elections saw Jugnauth remaining to power for a third consecutive term. Navin Ramgoolam
and other leaders of the labour Party denounced the authoritarian style of leading the cabinet. In 1995, Ramgoolam proposed an alliance to the MMM and the result was the Labour-MMM alliance won all the seats thus making the second 60–0 of Mauritian political history.
Jugnauth lost his seat in his constituency and this was the worst time that the MSM team had experienced since their creation.
In 2005, Jugnauth suffered one of the biggest humiliations in politics. Ramgoolam and the Social Alliance which won the elections demanded that Prime Minister and all ministers shall be appointed in front of the government house in public which is normally carried out at the STATE HOUSE in front of the President. It was noticed when appointing Ramgoolam, Jugnauth wanted to shake hands, but the other man refused, stepping aside. In May 2010, as the MSM joined hands with the Labour Party, Jugnauth released a press interview in the newspaper stating that he never liked the MMM and that they never had the intention to pursue development but rather strive for power only. He mentioned that Paul Berenger
should be not trusted and Ramgoolam would be a better choice. The consequences were that the MSM-Labour alliance won together 41 with the support of the Social Democrats.
) and himself were the two persons nominated to Presidency. He was voted both by governing members of parliament as well as opposition MPs. Jugnauth was elected to the ceremonial post of President in 2003. After five years in office, he was re-elected
by the National Assembly
in a unanimous vote on 19 September 2008, supported by both the government and the opposition.
His first initiative after winning presidential elections was to re-organize the structure of the government. He sent orders to the prime minister to make changes in the government, and in 2008, many ministers were changed of ministries, such as Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Rashid Beebeejaun
, was changed from Minister of Public Utilities to Minister of Energy.
of 2008 in constituency No 8, the Militant Socialist Movement
won with the support of the Labour Party and Pravind Jugnauth
returned as MP for that constituency.
In 2010 ,two days after his 80th birthday , the labour-MSM-PMSD alliance was made and Navin Ramgoolam
dissolved the parliament in respect for general elections .The alliance won the election and the MSM returned 13 Mps . However in August 2011 , the alliance broke and the MSM left the government leaving a very small majority for the Prime Minister .
After having a private meeting with Paul Berenger
,the leader of the opposition , Jugnauth made a statement that he might resign as President if the situation gets worst concerning the Medpoint scandale which involved his son, Pravind Jugnauth
and who is being summoned by the Independent Commission Against Corruption and he will be under warning meaning that he might be arrested for fraud .
He has also a Commemorative golden Mauritius Rupee Coin issued by the Bank of Mauritius having his face one side and a DODO on the other. The inscriptions are "THE Rt HON SIR ANEROOD JUGNAUTH PC, QC, KCMG " and is followed by "MAURITIUS". It originally holds a value of Rs 1,000 but is sold as a collection piece at USD 1,881.
He has been viewed as a rather right and down to earth person. Lately on the 19th of December 2010, he and his wife, First Lady Sarojini Ballah, The honorable Lady Jugnauth
went to receive an official opening of a pictorial biography of the President himself showing his path from small age poor child to him being President of Mauritius in 2010 leaving behind him a rich career as one of the leaders of the country. The biography is entitled The Rise of a Common Man. Present at the ceremony were Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam
, Vice Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth
and other ministers as well as friends of the latter.
while he is president. He is also entitled to use MP post-nominal and prefix, as he was an MP for more than 35 years.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, GCSK
Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean
The Most Distinguished Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean is the highest distinct order of merit in Mauritius. It was founded in 1992 to decorate people who have made a contribution to social progress in the nations of the Indian Ocean. It may be awarded to non-Mauritian...
, PC, LLB
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
, GOLH
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, GOP
Order of La Pléiade
The Order of La Pléiade , sometimes also referred by the anglicised name Order of the Pleiades, is an award of the Francophonie, and is intended to recognize those who have particularly distinguished themselves by serving the ideals of cooperation and friendship of the Francophonie.The award was...
, ORS
Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
is the President of Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and all its dependencies. He is the Commander in Chief and Head of state incumbent since 2003 following his election in 2003 and 2008.
He served as prime minister from 1982 to 1995 in four consecutive terms and then was voted out of office from 1995 to 2000. He was the prime minister who held the office for the longest run, one of 16 years, overtaking Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam KT,GCMG,KCMG,LRCP, MRCS is the first Chief Minister, Prime Minister and sixth Governor General of Mauritius....
, who held the office for 14 years. As leader of the Militant Socialist Movement
Militant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
, he became prime minister again, after the 2000 elections
Mauritian general election, 2000
The 2000 Mauritian general elections took place on 11 September 2000 for the National Assembly of Mauritius with the votes counted on 12 September 2000....
, for his fifth term. His alliance partner, Paul Bérenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
of the Mauritian Militant Movement
Mauritian Militant Movement
The Mouvement Militant Mauricien is a socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was formed by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM is currently led by Paul Bérenger....
, succeeded him in 2003 after serving as Jugnauth's deputy for three years. Jugnauth was then elected president in 2003. He was a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for 35 years, from 1963 to 1995 and from 2000 to 2003. Often nicknamed as Rambo
Rambo
Rambo is an action film series based on the David Morrell novel First Blood and starring Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo, a troubled Vietnam War veteran and former Green Beret who is skilled in many aspects of survival, weaponry, hand to hand combat and guerrilla warfare...
(a film character known to be unbeatable), in Mauritian politics, he is known as such for his personality as he is the only prime minister who won 4 general parliamentary elections in a row, those in 1982, 1983, 1987, 1991.
He was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn. Although Lincoln's Inn is able to trace its official records beyond...
. He was a cabinet minister during the leadership of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam KT,GCMG,KCMG,LRCP, MRCS is the first Chief Minister, Prime Minister and sixth Governor General of Mauritius....
from 1965 up to 1969. In 1970, he moved out and went to the newly created political party of the Mauritian Militant Movement
Mauritian Militant Movement
The Mouvement Militant Mauricien is a socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was formed by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM is currently led by Paul Bérenger....
, where he eventually became its leader in 1982. He created his own political party called Militant Socialist Movement
Militant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
in 1983 and was once more elected. His party remained in power up to 1995. In 2000, he was once more elected prime minister and served until 2003, when he was sworn into the presidency. From the beginning of his first mandate as Prime Minister he expressed his country's readiness to establish strong economic ties, particularly in creating technology-based projects with economic feasibility. Jugnauth is credited with the legacy of Mauritius’ "economic miracle" of the 1980s - a set of policies such as the revitalization of the duty-free trade zone and establishing Mauritius as a leader in textiles production - which allowed the island to develop an economic presence in the region.
He founded the Militant Socialist Movement
Militant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
party in 1983. He was elected as prime minister in 1982 for the first time, again in 1983, and for the third time from 1991 to 1995. He was honoured with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards for his continued support for India's causes and concerns and for strengthening India's relationship with Mauritius. He has expressed his country's readiness to establish strong economic ties, particularly in creating technology-based projects He was elected in 2000 to his final tenure as Prime Minister up to 2003 where he retired from his office.
He was made Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1980 and was made a member Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council in 1983. He was Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1988 when the Republic was still a Commonwealth Realm
Commonwealth Realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
and when the Queen acted as Head of State. Therefore he still uses his Formal title as Sir and also the prefix The Right Honorable.
In 2010, his political party, the Militant Socialist Movement
Militant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
, formed a coalition with the Mauritian Labour Party
Mauritian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a political party in Mauritius.The Mauritian Labour Party was structured in 1936 to model the British Labour Party and has similar socialist goals...
and won the general elections held on the 5 May 2010. Following the elections, his son Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth MP Esq. is the former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Mauritius who was in office from 11 May 2010 to 26 July 2011. He is also Member of Parliament for the 8th constituency Quartier Militaire and Moka.He is an Indo-Mauritian of Bihari descent. He served in...
leader of the Militant Socialist Movement
Militant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
became Vice Prime Minister
Cabinet of Ministers of Mauritius
The Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Mauritius is the official council which advises the President of the Republic to take major decisions...
holding the office of Minister of Finance.
Early career and education
Anerood Jugnauth was born on 29 March 1930 at La Caverne, Vacoas Phoenix, and was brought up there. He had his primary education at Palma Primary School and had his secondary education at Regent College. He taught for some time at New Eton College and later worked as a clerk in the Poor Law Department for some time before being transferred to the Judicial Department. In 1951, he left Mauritius for the UK to study law. In 1964, he was elected Chairman of the Palma Village Council. He was first elected to parliament as an Independent Forward Block candidate in the constituency of Rivière du Rempart District in 1963. He served as a magistrate shortly after his resignation in 1966. In 1969, he was promoted to the Crown Law Office. In 1971, he was made Senior Crown Counsel.In the beginning of the 1970s, Jugnauth joined the Mauritian Militant Movement
Mauritian Militant Movement
The Mouvement Militant Mauricien is a socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was formed by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM is currently led by Paul Bérenger....
. He became the president and subsequently the leader of the party. Re-elected at the general election held in 1976 in the constituency of Piton/Rivière du Rempart, he served as Leader of the Opposition from December 1976 to June 1982.
Jugnauth trained and worked in law and took an active role in the 1960s negotiations for independence. Hewas called to the Bar in London in 1954. His political career began with his being elected in the Constituency of Rivière du Rempart in 1963. He was the President of the Palma Village council in 1964. He became Leader of Opposition from December 1976 to June 1982, and he joined the Mauritian Militant Movement
Mauritian Militant Movement
The Mouvement Militant Mauricien is a socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was formed by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM is currently led by Paul Bérenger....
in 1970.
Early politics
Anerood Jugnauth was first elected in the constituency No 14 of Riviere du Rempart in 1963 in the National Legislative Assembly and was candidate of the Independent Forward Block.He remained member up to 1967 where general elections were back .He held the office of different ministries .He joined the All Mauritius Hindu Congress in 1965. State Minister for Development in the government of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam from 1965 to 1966, he was promoted Minister of Labour in November 1966. He took part in the London Constitutional Conference on Mauritius. He resigned from his office in April 1967. In 1970 there was the political split of Independence Party and his All Hindu Congress Party,his party was dissolved in the thought of making Communal elections .With this the Muslim Action Committee known as the CAM was also dissolved .
1976 elections
The 1976 elections were contested by three of the most popular candidates on the island.These were the Independent Party [IP], an alliance of the Mauritian Labor Party, led by the Prime Minister, Seewoosagur RamgoolamSeewoosagur Ramgoolam
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam KT,GCMG,KCMG,LRCP, MRCS is the first Chief Minister, Prime Minister and sixth Governor General of Mauritius....
, and the Muslim Action Committee; Mauritian Social Democrat Party
Mauritian Social Democrat Party
The Mauritian Social Democratic Party is a political party in Mauritius. It is conservative and francophile. It is the 4th biggest political party in the National Assembly after Mauritian Labour Party, Mauritian Militant Movement and the Militant Socialist Movement...
(PMSD) led by Gaëtan Duval; and the Mauritian Militant Movement
Mauritian Militant Movement
The Mouvement Militant Mauricien is a socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was formed by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM is currently led by Paul Bérenger....
(MMM) led by Paul Bérenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
and Anerood Jugnauth himself. About 460 100 voters of the 0.8 million inhabitants of Mauritius registered, and 88% (404 918) of them actually voted. The election was closely fought, and no party was able to gain a majority of parliamentary seats (see 1976 Legislative Assembly election results). The MMM received most votes, 38.64%, but gained only 34 seats, two short of an absolute majority. The Independence Party (MLP and CAM) gained 37.90% and 28 seats, while the PMSD received 16.20% of the votes and eight seats. By once more forming a coalition with the PMSD, Ramgoolam managed to stay in power, but with a majority of only two seats in the Assembly.
Jugnauth in alliance with Paul Berenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
became the kings of politics in the island.Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam KT,GCMG,KCMG,LRCP, MRCS is the first Chief Minister, Prime Minister and sixth Governor General of Mauritius....
ruled over the house of parliament with only two seats over the others. The Independence Alliance occupied 36 seats while MMM became opposition with 34 seats. Anerood Jugnauth was appointed as Leader of Opposition and he remained to the place until next general elections in 1982.
1982 elections and first tenure as prime minister
From 1976 to 1982, The MLP had been weakened by the defection of part of its coalition partner, the PMSD, while the CAM declined to contest the election. The MMMMauritian Militant Movement
The Mouvement Militant Mauricien is a socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was formed by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM is currently led by Paul Bérenger....
had formed an alliance with Harish Boodhoo's Parti Socialiste Mauricien known as PSM. Anerood Jugnauth hoped that this alliance would draw Hindu votes away from the MLP and ensure a MMM victory.
The election resulted in a landslide victory for the MMM-PSM alliance (formed by Jugnauth & Berenger in early 1981), which won 64.16% of the vote and all 60 elected seats (42 by the MMM, 18 by the PSM, and two for the allied Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais) (for more detail see 1982 Legislative Assembly election results). Voter turn-out was 87.3%, with 471 196 out of an electorate of 540 000 casting their votes for the 34 parties contesting 62 seats. The LP, which had dominated Mauritian politics since 1948, won no seats and (together with the Muslim Action Committee) only 25.78% of the vote. The PMSD did even worse, receiving only 7.79% of the vote. The LP and the PMSD each did eventually receive two seats in parliament under the best-loser provisions.
Anerood Jugnauth became Prime Minister for the first time, Boodhoo Deputy Prime Minister, and Paul Bérenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
Minister of Finance.
Jugnauth swept to power in 1982 in a dramatic election in which his MMM-PSM alliance won all seats in the Legislative Assembly. When he took the office, the country was wrecked by chronic unemployment, rapidly rising inflation and the infinite expectations of a volatile and highly politicized electorate. Within months of his election victory, he saw his massive and unassailable majority collapsing before his eyes as his political party tore itself apart through bitter in-fighting over personality and policy. He presided over the country's rapid industrialization. In late 1982, the two party leaders, Harish Boodhoo and Paul Berenger were both wanting absolute power over the Alliance, this led to their break up where the MMM & PSM became apart. Jugnauth who was thinking of a new political strategy was expected to resolve the issue but to everybody's surprise, he let both parties go apart.
With this Paul Berenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
begun war by saying that Jugnauth had no right to control the MMM as he was not leader but only a member.
This led to internal fights inside the MMM. Jugnauth being Prime Minister announced general elections in 1983 again. This time he was not a Candidate for the MMM but he proposed to Boodhoo of dissolving the PSM to make a new more stronger Party called the MSM (Militant Socialist Movement
Militant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
).He created the MSM and in Alliance with the Mauritian Labor Party went to the general elections together trying to fight against Paul Berenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
and his MMM.
Almost from the beginning, the governing alliance was rent by serious differences, partly of a personal nature but also over Bérenger's stringent economic policies and his attempt to make Creole the national language (despite the Indian descent of the majority of the population). In March 1983, the government collapsed when the dominant faction within the MMM [Mouvement Militant Mauricien], led by Bérenger, split from Jugnauth's leadership and resigned from the cabinet.
1983 and second tenure as prime minister
In early April 1983, Jugnauth formed a new party, the Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM), which, in May, amalgamated with the PSM led by Boodhoo, and was renamed the Militant Socialist MovementMilitant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
(MSM). However, the new government lacked a majority in the legislative assembly, and Jugnauth was obliged to dissolve the assembly in June. New elections were set for August 1993.Re-elected at the general elections held on 23 August 1983, Jugnauth was re-elected as prime minister The MMM fought the election alone. Jugnauth's MSM formed a new coalition - called the Alliance - with the Labour Party and the PMSD [Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate], the very parties that only a year ago had been ousted from power by the MMM, which was then led by Jugnauth.
The popular vote was very close (for detail see 1983 Legislative Assembly election results). The MMM received 209 845 votes (46.4%) - the highest proportion of the vote ever received by a single party in any Mauritian election. The Alliance received 236 146 votes (52.22%); independents and the Rodrigues parties got the remaining 1.38% and two seats. Of the 552 800 registered voters, 452 221 (81.8%) had voted. When seats were distributed, however, the Alliance held a substantial majority - 46 to the 22 received by the MMM. The disproportionate weighting of seats reflects the fact that MMM votes were concentrated in urban constituencies where large numerical majorities won only three seats, whereas the Alliance swept the rural constituencies where Hindus predominated. The election was a personal victory for Jugnauth and something of a comeback for Duval, who became deputy prime minister, and Ramgoolam, who was named Governor-General shortly after.
Commenting on the MMM's fourteen months in power and the outcome of the 1983 election, Bowman (1991, 87) remarks that Mauritius worked itself "through a tumultuous political period in an orderly, constitutional way, without violence. Prominent leaders left power gracefully and allowed other parties and individuals to accede to leadership roles." And whereas the MMM had been historically viewed as a more radical party than the MLP, once in power it actually provided considerable continuity of leadership.
1987 and third tenure
The years following the 1983 elections were marked by an endless succession of intra- and inter-party feuds as well as scandals involving high government members and officials in corruption, fraud and drug trafficking. Within months of taking office, the Alliance began a process of fragmentation that by 1986 left the government without a working majority in parliament. When in February 1984, the MLP [Mauritius Labour Party] left the government, 11 of its MPs continued to support the government and formed a faction within the MLP called the Rassemblement des Travaillistes Mauriciens (RTM). Upon proroguing parliament in November 1986, Jugnauth agreed that an election was necessary.Parliament was dissolved on 3 July, and the election date set for 30 August 1987, one year ahead of schedule. Campaigning started on 22 July 1987. The campaign was fought intensely but with less bitterness and blatant communal hostility than had been the case in the past. Jugnauth's Alliance fought the election with his MSM [Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien], Duval's MPSD [Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate], and both major factions of the MLP, the one led by Satcam Boolell and the RTM. The MMM allied itself with two small parties, the Mouvement Travailliste Démocrat (RTD) and the Front des Travailleurs Socialiste (FTS). A total of 639 488 voters were registered (approximately 60% of the total population) and of these, 546 623 (85.5%) cast their votes. A total of 359 candidates ran for the 62 elected seats. The ballot, like the electoral campaign, was held in an impassioned atmosphere, but there were no serious incidents. During the election campaign, the ruling MSM/MLP/PMSD alliance was known as the Sun (Soleil) and the opposing Union (composed of MMM/MTD/FTS) as the Heart (Coeur) after their respective emblems.
While overall participation of voters in the polling amounted to 85.5%, it ran up to 93% in some constituencies. The average size of the multimember constituencies was around 30 000. As in previous elections, the MMM and its partners received the highest percentage of votes, 48.12%, of which a small percentage can be attributed to its two small partners (see 1987 Legislative Assembly election results for more detail). It won 21 seats, comprising 19 of the 30 urban seats, and only two of the 30 rural seats. The Alliance (MSM/PMSD/MLP) won a total of 49.86% and 39 seats. After the best-loser seats were allocated, the Alliance held 46 seats to the MMM's 24. The two seats of the Organisation du Peuple Rodriguais helped to raise those of the Alliance to 46.
The outcome of the election highlighted an anomaly of the electoral system. A mere 1.7% of the votes cast separated the two political alliances, but in terms of seats the gap was 36.6 percentage points. The opposition called for electoral reforms, but the winning alliance was quite happy with things as they stood. The outcome of the 1991 general election added further impetus to demands for reform.
The MSM had drawn its main support from the Hindu community (52% of the total population), particularly from the numerically dominant Vaishya caste, which included Jugnauth among its members. The MSM was also favoured by the economically dominant Chinese and Franco-Mauritian communities. The MMM's support was concentrated in the Muslim Indian community (17% of the total population), in sections of the Creole community (27%) and in the lower Hindu castes, particularly those of southern Mauritius disaffected with Vaishya dominance in the north. Of the smaller ruling parties, the MLP also represented higher-caste Hindus, while the PMSD was strong in the Creole community. Jugnauth was once more elected with a majority in the Parliament and was once more elected as Prime Minister and took office for his 3rd term.
1991 and fourth tenure
On 6 August 1991, Jugnauth dissolved the national assembly and announced that a general election would be held on 15 September, nearly a year early. Jugnauth led an alliance of his MSM [Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien] with the MMM [Mouvement Militant Mauricien] and the RTD [Rassemblement des Travaillistes Mauriciens] against an alliance of the MLP [Mauritius Labour Party] and the PMSD [Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate]. The MSM/MMM/RTD alliance was better prepared than the opposition. Before the election date had been announced, it had already drawn up its list of candidates for the 20 constituencies, and published its election manifesto. The opposition lost valuable time with lengthy negotiations concerning candidates and manifesto. The latter offered nothing new to the electorate and was broadly similar to the policies put forward by the government. Some 25 parties and independents and 331 candidates were involved. According to official figures, 682 000 voters (about 63% of the total population of 1 083 000) were entitled to vote, and of these about 576 300 (84.5%) turned out (see 1991 National Assembly election results for more detail). The government alliance's 56.3% of the vote gave it 57 seats in parliament, while the opposition's 39.9% of the vote gave it only three seats — an even more glaring discrepancy than in 1987 (see 1987 National Assembly election results). Only four best-loser seats were allocated. Jugnauth once more ruled in the house of parliament for a 4th term and was once more elected Prime Minister reigning over as the Supreme King of politics.1995 and onwards
When Prime Minister Jugnauth lost a vote of confidence over a language issue that required an amendment to the constitution, he dissolved parliament on 16 November 1995 and called a snap election for 20 December. Candidates had to be nominated by 4 December, and the campaign was officially opened on 5 December. A record 506 candidates entered the fray in which some 42 parties and independents participated. A landslide victory for the opposition ended Jugnauth's rule as Prime Minister which had lasted since 1982. The Labour Party (MLP)-MMM [Mouvement Militant Mauricien] alliance captured all 60 of the directly elected seats on the island of Mauritius with only 63.7% of the poll, representing a mere 51.1% of the total electorate [The two seats on the island of Rodeguas went to l'Organisation du Peuple de Rodrigues (OPR)]. The MSM-RMM alliance obtained 19.3% of the votes cast or the support of 15.4% of the total electorate, but even under the best-loser system it found itself without a single seat in the National Assembly. (The RMM = Renouveau Militant Mauricien, was the name adopted by a substantial part of the MMM led by Dr Prem Nababsing after Bérenger had broken away from it in 1993 and retained the right to the name of MMM [MSM = Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien]).Only four best-loser seats were allocated and went to small parties with little national influence - two to the Mouvement Ridriguais in Rodrigues island and the other two respectively to the Hizbullah Party and the Parti Gaëtan Duval (PGD, formerly the PMSD). The best-loser system clearly encourages communal politics. A close analysis of voting patterns reveals that people voted largely according to communal divisions. The Islamist Hizbullah Party, one of the newer parties, had exploited the voting system by appealing to a very narrow section of the population and managed to secure a best-loser seat. The crushing defeat of the MSM-RMM alliance was partly due to the practice of communal politics; both parties were headed by Hindus and therefore failed to attract non-Hindu supporters.
The vast majority of Creoles and the Muslims voted for the LP-MMM alliance, while the Hindu voters were split between the two opposing political camps. Another reason was that voters, even though they acknowledged the economic progress made under successive Jugnauth governments, apparently wanted change for the sake of change. Anerood Jugnauth stood as candidate at the by-election held in constituency No. 9 (Flacq/Bon Acceuil) in April 1998 but was defeated. He immediately initiated the idea of an MSM/MMM federation which eventually took shape in January 1999. However, the Federation was dissolved after the defeat of its candidate at the by-election held on 19 September 1999.
Jugnauth founded the MSM/MMM Alliance together with Paul Bérenger, leader of the MMM, on 14 August 2000, based on equal sharing of power. At the general elections held on 11 September 2000, he was elected as first member of constituency No 7 (Piton/Rivière du Rempart) and was appointed as Prime Minister.
2000 and last tenure as prime minister
The outgoing prime minister, Navin RamgoolamNavin Ramgoolam
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP, MP is the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs & External Communications, as well as Leader of the National Assembly. Being the leader of the Mauritian Labour Party, he serves as Member of parliament for constituency No...
of the Mauritian Labor Party (PTr), led a coalition with Xavier Luc Duval
Xavier Luc Duval
Charles Gaëtan Xavier Luc Duval, GCSK, ACCA, MP is the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Development in Mauritius...
, the leader of the Parti Mauricien Xavier Duval (PMXD). Duval was Minister of Finance in the previous government alliance formed in mid-1999. The other alliance was formed (for the fourth time) between Sir Anerood Jugnauth (MSM) and Paul Bérenger (MMM). The MSM sought to appeal to the Hindu community while the MMM tried to base its membership from across the spectrum in Mauritius.
On 15 August 2000, the leaders of these two parties as well several other leaders from much smaller parties signed what they termed a 'historical electoral accord'. The most outstanding aspect of this accord was the proposed sharing of the prime ministerial post between MSM leader Sir Anerood Jugnauth and MMM leader Paul Bérenger. Under this arrangement, Jugnauth would hold the post of prime minister for the first three years and Bérenger for the remaining two years. After surrendering the premiership to Bérenger, Jugnauthwould be called to assume the function of President of the Republic after reforms to strengthen of the presidency, which was largely a symbolic post. The MSM/MMM alliance argued that this reform was necessary because the prime minister held too much power in Mauritius, including the right to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections. They charged that this system created the opportunity for abuse. They illustrated this by recalling that Dr Ramgoolam dissolved parliament on 10 August 2000, issued the writs of election on the same day, fixed the nomination day for 26 August 2000 and the poll day for 11 September 2000, leaving the opposition only 32 days to organise. The accord also provided for a reform of the electoral system to replace the "best losers system" gradually by proportional representation, and to end the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation's (MBC) monopoly over the electronic media. In addition to sharing the post of prime minister, what made the MSM/MMM electoral accord exceptional was the fact that it would allow, for the first time in the history of the island, a non-Hindu Mauritian to become the Prime Minister. The elections took place on 11 September 2000 with a total of 80.87% of registered voters casting their ballots. The MSM/MMM alliance won a resounding victory with 54 of the directly elected seats.
The Medpoint Deal
- Further information: Mauritian general election, 2000Mauritian general election, 2000The 2000 Mauritian general elections took place on 11 September 2000 for the National Assembly of Mauritius with the votes counted on 12 September 2000....
and The Coalition of MSM/MMMMSM/MMMThe Militant Socialist Movement/Mauritian Militant Movement was a coalition party that formed the government of the Republic of Mauritius from September 2000 to July 2005.The coalition was known as the "Medpoint Deal" and was formed by former Prime Minister and actual President Sir Anerood...
In early 1999 when the Labor Party and MMM decided to end up their team, MMM became the opposition party and MLP formed the government.Sir Anerood Jugnauth then initiated the idea of the "Medpoint Deal"The MSM
Militant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
led by Anerood Jugnauth and MMM
Mauritian Militant Movement
The Mouvement Militant Mauricien is a socialist political party in Mauritius. The party was formed by a group of students in the late 1960s. The MMM is currently led by Paul Bérenger....
led by Paul Bérenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
agreed that if they won the election Anerood Jugnauth would become Prime Minister. They agreed that after 3 years he would step down as Prime Minister to become the President of Mauritius with enhanced powers and Bérenger would become Prime Minister, the first non-Hindu to do so. The idea was both agreed by the MSM members and MMM members.It was agreed that Paul Berenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
would remain Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some counties, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, but is significantly different, though both...
and Minister of Finance for 3 years up to 2003 and after that would take up the leadership of both parties becoming prime minister for the rest of the term thus up to 2005.He was prime minister for 21 months. They formed up the MSM/MMM
MSM/MMM
The Militant Socialist Movement/Mauritian Militant Movement was a coalition party that formed the government of the Republic of Mauritius from September 2000 to July 2005.The coalition was known as the "Medpoint Deal" and was formed by former Prime Minister and actual President Sir Anerood...
in 2000.
Jugnauth agreed to step down and become President as from 2003. Former president Karl Offmann
Karl Offmann
Karl Auguste Offmann is a Mauritian politician.After two of his successive predecessors had resigned over their refusal to sign a controversial anti-terrorism bill, the parliament elected Offmann to serve as President of Mauritius on 25 February 2002...
was also of the game. He was put to the office of the president with the condition that he would remain president only for 19 months. Jugnauth became president under the transition with the so-called "sudden" resignation of President Offmann.
Jugnauth resigned as prime minister on 30 September 2003 at 13:30 pm and also as member of parliament at 15:00 pm, giving his resignation letter to Speaker of the House on the same day. He announced his departure in a 20-minute speech given to the members of parliament stating that he was leaving the office so as to make room for new prime ministers.
"Everything said and done about me, I am proud to go down in history as a no-nonsense, honest and dedicated prime minister having done my duty in good faith and without fear or favour. I have understood our political adversaries and, taken at its most, all divergent views and attitudes have been mere manifestations to our democracy at its best , said Jugnauth in the speech before his departure."
He was sworn to presidency on 7 October 2003 following the resignation of former President Karl Offmann
Karl Offmann
Karl Auguste Offmann is a Mauritian politician.After two of his successive predecessors had resigned over their refusal to sign a controversial anti-terrorism bill, the parliament elected Offmann to serve as President of Mauritius on 25 February 2002...
.
The Businessman
Jugnauth is the owner of one of the most famous building companies on Mauritius, located at the Sun Trust Building situated at La Rue Edith Cawell, Port Louis. The same building was the subject of controversies and critics after its floor renting prices were at the highest peak of the national market. The Government Ministry of Education department was there up until 1995 when newly elected Minister, the late Burty David, refused to work in the building. The government therefore allocated the department in another building and the penalty paid to Jugnauth in terms of breach of contract was amounted to Rs 45 millions (equivalent to $1.5 million (USD)).Another business in the hands of Jugnauth was the Score Jumbo hyper market, considered to be the strongest selling market in the island.
Family life
Jugnauth married Sarojini BallahSarojini Ballah
Sarojini Ballah, The Hon. Lady Jugnauth is the actual First Lady of Mauritius due to her marriage to the actual President Sir Anerood Jugnauth and also held the office of Premier's Lady while her husband was in office of Prime Minister twice, once from 1982 to 1995 and secondly from 2000 to 2003...
on 18 December 1957, and he is the father of two children: Pravind
Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth MP Esq. is the former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Mauritius who was in office from 11 May 2010 to 26 July 2011. He is also Member of Parliament for the 8th constituency Quartier Militaire and Moka.He is an Indo-Mauritian of Bihari descent. He served in...
and Shalini. Pravind is the ex Minister of Finance of the Country and serves as a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the Constituency Moka & Quartier Militaire
Quartier Militaire
Quartier Militaire is a town found in the centre of Mauritius, found in the Moka District and the capital of the Garden District. It houses the District Council of the region. It has a population of over 30,600...
. Pravind is the leader of the Militant Socialist Movement and is married to Kobita Ramdanee. Jugnauth's daughter, Shalini, is also married.
Jugnauth is the grandfather to five grandchildren: Anusha, Divya, Sonika, Sonali and Sara.
President
Sir Anerood along with Lady JugnauthSarojini Ballah
Sarojini Ballah, The Hon. Lady Jugnauth is the actual First Lady of Mauritius due to her marriage to the actual President Sir Anerood Jugnauth and also held the office of Premier's Lady while her husband was in office of Prime Minister twice, once from 1982 to 1995 and secondly from 2000 to 2003...
took over the keys of the Chateau of Reduit on the 7 October 2003. His election to presidency was largely approved by the entire population as it was considered to be the new era of Mauritian Politics, allowing Paul Berenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
to become prime minister who was the first person of non-Hindu religion to become head of government.
In 2003, he handed the leadership of his party to his son Pravind Jugnauth. He announced that he had "reached the end of this road". During his first Mandate, due to constitution, he had to announce general elections, which eventually took place in July 2005. The new prime minister elected Navin Ramgoolam
Navin Ramgoolam
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP, MP is the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs & External Communications, as well as Leader of the National Assembly. Being the leader of the Mauritian Labour Party, he serves as Member of parliament for constituency No...
,
called him "a sitting duck" who is still yearning for power. He remained president until the end of his 5-year term, ending in 2008.
Threats on Diego Garcia
In 2007, Jugnauth threatened to leave the Commonwealth in protest at the UK's "barbarous" treatment of the people of the Chagos Islands. Jugnauth stated that he might take the UK to the International Court of JusticeInternational Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
over the islanders' plight. The Chagos Islands, a British colony in the Indian Ocean, were leased to the US in the 1960s to build a military base.The residents were forced out, and the government says they cannot return, but have been granted UK citizenship. Many of the residents now live in poverty in Mauritius, or as refugees in the UK. The American base was built on the large island of Diego Garcia within the Chagos archipelago. Mauritius claims the islands as part of its territory, and Jugnauth claimed his country was forced by the British to accept the Chagossians as a condition for independence.
Enmity within politics
Jugnauth was well known enemy with Navin RamgoolamNavin Ramgoolam
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP, MP is the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs & External Communications, as well as Leader of the National Assembly. Being the leader of the Mauritian Labour Party, he serves as Member of parliament for constituency No...
and his party, the Labour Party
Mauritian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a political party in Mauritius.The Mauritian Labour Party was structured in 1936 to model the British Labour Party and has similar socialist goals...
, his present ally. In 1987 elections, late Sir Satcam Boolell, then leader of the Labours did not approve the coalition between Jugnauth's MSM, Duval's PMSD and their parties. This led to their official break up in 1988 but 11 members of parliament continued to support the MSM and thus broke the Labour Party in two blocks.
Jugnauth managed to keep a working majority and once again remained Prime Minister until 1991 when he calls for new elections The MSM made an alliance with the MMM and one block of the broken Labour Party namely the Democratic Labour Movement (MTD), led by Anil Baichoo, a minister which recently merged again with the Labours.
The 1991 elections saw Jugnauth remaining to power for a third consecutive term. Navin Ramgoolam
Navin Ramgoolam
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP, MP is the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs & External Communications, as well as Leader of the National Assembly. Being the leader of the Mauritian Labour Party, he serves as Member of parliament for constituency No...
and other leaders of the labour Party denounced the authoritarian style of leading the cabinet. In 1995, Ramgoolam proposed an alliance to the MMM and the result was the Labour-MMM alliance won all the seats thus making the second 60–0 of Mauritian political history.
Jugnauth lost his seat in his constituency and this was the worst time that the MSM team had experienced since their creation.
In 2005, Jugnauth suffered one of the biggest humiliations in politics. Ramgoolam and the Social Alliance which won the elections demanded that Prime Minister and all ministers shall be appointed in front of the government house in public which is normally carried out at the STATE HOUSE in front of the President. It was noticed when appointing Ramgoolam, Jugnauth wanted to shake hands, but the other man refused, stepping aside. In May 2010, as the MSM joined hands with the Labour Party, Jugnauth released a press interview in the newspaper stating that he never liked the MMM and that they never had the intention to pursue development but rather strive for power only. He mentioned that Paul Berenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
should be not trusted and Ramgoolam would be a better choice. The consequences were that the MSM-Labour alliance won together 41 with the support of the Social Democrats.
Second mandate
Due to the end of the mandate of Sir Jugnauth, two persons, Vice President (Angidi ChettiarAngidi Chettiar
Angidi Verriah Chettiar was a Mauritian politician who served as the Vice President of Mauritius from August 2007 until his death in September 2010. Angidi Chettiar was born in Madurai in the State of Tamil Nadu, India and came to Mauritius at the age of 10. The Chettiar family is a family of...
) and himself were the two persons nominated to Presidency. He was voted both by governing members of parliament as well as opposition MPs. Jugnauth was elected to the ceremonial post of President in 2003. After five years in office, he was re-elected
Mauritian presidential election, 2008
An indirect presidential election was held in Mauritius on 19 September 2008. Anerood Jugnauth, who was first elected as President in 2003, was re-elected by the National Assembly in a unanimous vote, supported by both the government and the opposition....
by the National Assembly
National Assembly of Mauritius
The National Assembly is Mauritius's unicameral parliament, which was called the Legislative Assembly until 1992, when the country became a republic...
in a unanimous vote on 19 September 2008, supported by both the government and the opposition.
His first initiative after winning presidential elections was to re-organize the structure of the government. He sent orders to the prime minister to make changes in the government, and in 2008, many ministers were changed of ministries, such as Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Rashid Beebeejaun
Rashid Beebeejaun
Ahmed Rashid Beebeejaun, GCSK is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Utilities of Mauritius having been in office since 2008. He is the Deputy leader of the Mauritian Labor Party since 2004 and is the first person to hold office of Prime Minister in the Mauritius line of Succession...
, was changed from Minister of Public Utilities to Minister of Energy.
2008 & Present
Parliament voted for SAJ to remain as President for a second Mandate in 2008. Shortly after ,during the by-electionBy-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
of 2008 in constituency No 8, the Militant Socialist Movement
Militant Socialist Movement
The Militant Socialist Movement is a Centre-Right political party in Mauritius that adheres to the philosophies of socialism and political democracy. It is the 3rd largest political party in the National Assembly. It has in all 13 seats directly elected from the 2010 general elections...
won with the support of the Labour Party and Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth MP Esq. is the former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Mauritius who was in office from 11 May 2010 to 26 July 2011. He is also Member of Parliament for the 8th constituency Quartier Militaire and Moka.He is an Indo-Mauritian of Bihari descent. He served in...
returned as MP for that constituency.
In 2010 ,two days after his 80th birthday , the labour-MSM-PMSD alliance was made and Navin Ramgoolam
Navin Ramgoolam
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP, MP is the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs & External Communications, as well as Leader of the National Assembly. Being the leader of the Mauritian Labour Party, he serves as Member of parliament for constituency No...
dissolved the parliament in respect for general elections .The alliance won the election and the MSM returned 13 Mps . However in August 2011 , the alliance broke and the MSM left the government leaving a very small majority for the Prime Minister .
After having a private meeting with Paul Berenger
Paul Bérenger
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK MP is the Leader of the Opposition of Mauritius and former Prime Minister of the Republic. Bérenger, who is a Christian of French descent, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu....
,the leader of the opposition , Jugnauth made a statement that he might resign as President if the situation gets worst concerning the Medpoint scandale which involved his son, Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth MP Esq. is the former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Mauritius who was in office from 11 May 2010 to 26 July 2011. He is also Member of Parliament for the 8th constituency Quartier Militaire and Moka.He is an Indo-Mauritian of Bihari descent. He served in...
and who is being summoned by the Independent Commission Against Corruption and he will be under warning meaning that he might be arrested for fraud .
Honors
Sir Anerood has been given much popularity as of 2011, he will be celebrating nearly 50 years as a known personality of the country. He is one of the only two Prime Ministers who served under Queen Elizabeth II and pre-republic regime. There is one Primary School in his former constituency, Riviere du Rempart under his name, known as SIR ANEROOD JUGNAUTH GOVERNMENT SCHOOL situated in the north of the country.He has also a Commemorative golden Mauritius Rupee Coin issued by the Bank of Mauritius having his face one side and a DODO on the other. The inscriptions are "THE Rt HON SIR ANEROOD JUGNAUTH PC, QC, KCMG " and is followed by "MAURITIUS". It originally holds a value of Rs 1,000 but is sold as a collection piece at USD 1,881.
He has been viewed as a rather right and down to earth person. Lately on the 19th of December 2010, he and his wife, First Lady Sarojini Ballah, The honorable Lady Jugnauth
Sarojini Ballah
Sarojini Ballah, The Hon. Lady Jugnauth is the actual First Lady of Mauritius due to her marriage to the actual President Sir Anerood Jugnauth and also held the office of Premier's Lady while her husband was in office of Prime Minister twice, once from 1982 to 1995 and secondly from 2000 to 2003...
went to receive an official opening of a pictorial biography of the President himself showing his path from small age poor child to him being President of Mauritius in 2010 leaving behind him a rich career as one of the leaders of the country. The biography is entitled The Rise of a Common Man. Present at the ceremony were Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam
Navin Ramgoolam
Navinchandra Ramgoolam, GCSK, FRCP, MP is the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs & External Communications, as well as Leader of the National Assembly. Being the leader of the Mauritian Labour Party, he serves as Member of parliament for constituency No...
, Vice Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Jugnauth
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth MP Esq. is the former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Mauritius who was in office from 11 May 2010 to 26 July 2011. He is also Member of Parliament for the 8th constituency Quartier Militaire and Moka.He is an Indo-Mauritian of Bihari descent. He served in...
and other ministers as well as friends of the latter.
Titles
- QCQueen's CounselQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(1980) - Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (1983)
- Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (1988)
- Grand Prix of the Order of La PléiadeOrder of La PléiadeThe Order of La Pléiade , sometimes also referred by the anglicised name Order of the Pleiades, is an award of the Francophonie, and is intended to recognize those who have particularly distinguished themselves by serving the ideals of cooperation and friendship of the Francophonie.The award was...
(1984) - Honorary Doctorate from Aix-Marseille University (March 1985)
- Doctor of Civil LawDoctor of Civil LawDoctor of Civil Law is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws degrees....
(Honoris Causa) from the University of Mauritius (May 1985) - Order of the Rising SunOrder of the Rising SunThe is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun...
(January 1988) - Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (March 1990)
- Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian OceanOrder of the Star and Key of the Indian OceanThe Most Distinguished Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean is the highest distinct order of merit in Mauritius. It was founded in 1992 to decorate people who have made a contribution to social progress in the nations of the Indian Ocean. It may be awarded to non-Mauritian...
(2003) - Honorary Doctorate from Middlesex UniversityMiddlesex UniversityMiddlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
(July 2009)
Styles
Jugnauth will bear the title Right Honorable for life and the title ExcellencyExcellency
Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organization or state.Usually, people styled "Excellency" are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, aristocracy, and military, and others holding equivalent rank .It is...
while he is president. He is also entitled to use MP post-nominal and prefix, as he was an MP for more than 35 years.
- Anerood Jugnauth(1930–1963)
- The Honourable Anerood Jugnauth,MP (1963–1980)
- The Honourable Anerood Jugnauth, QC, MP (1980–1983)
- The Right Honourable Anerood Jugnauth, QC, PC, MP (1983–1988)
- The Right Honourable Sir Anerood Jugnauth,KCMG, QC, PC, MP (1988–2003)
- His Excellency The Right Honourable Sir Anerood Jugnauth,GCSK, KCMG, QC, PC,(2003–present)