Paul Bérenger
Encyclopedia
Paul Raymond Bérenger GCSK
MP
(born 26 March 1945) 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.
In 2003 Berenger took office of Prime Minister following the resignation of then Prime Minister Jugnauth
after serving as his deputy for three years .He held the office for a period of 1 year 9 months after his alliance lost the elections to the MLP and its leader, Navin Ramgoolam
.
He has also held the office of Leader of the Opposition
from 1983 to 1987 and then Minister of External Affairs from 1991 to 1993 and has held the office of Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius
twice from 1995 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2003 .In 1982 he was Minister of Finance same as from 2000 to 2003.
Berenger is of French descent
and was born in Mauritius. He is one of the most prominent political figure in the island and is considered to be popular as much as grand personalities as Navin Ramgoolam
, Pravind Jugnauth
& President Anerood Jugnauth
.He is the leader of the Mauritian Militant Movement
(MMM),which is one of the three most powerful political parties in the country others being the Militant Socialist Movement
(MSM) & the Mauritian Labour Party
(MLP).
Bérenger founded the Mauritian Militant Movement
in 1969 along with Dev Veerasawmy and the Jeerubarkhan brothers.It is known to be the best established political force in the country as it has often went for elections alone without big alliance.
After the 2000 elections
, the MMM formed a coalition with the Militant Socialist Movement
. They came to an agreement that the leader of the MSM, Anerood Jugnauth
, would serve as prime minister for the first three years of the five-year term of Parliament and Berenger would take over for the remaining two years of their term. This agreement was fulfilled; Berenger subsequently tried to run on his own in the following elections but lost to Navinchandra Ramgoolam in the 2005 elections
.
Bérenger is an alumnus of the University College of North Wales in Bangor, now Bangor University
.
and in 1969 graduates from the University of Wales
with a BA Hons in philosophy and French. He later worked as Trade Unionist from 1970 to 1982 before winning the general elections .
(Known as the MMM) ,one of the three most important parties of Mauritius
,others being the Militant Socialist Movement
and Mauritian Labour Party
.After completing his studies in UK ,he founded a small group of students known as (Mouvement Etudiants Mauricien) with Dev Virahsawmy and the Jeeroburkan brothers in 1968 .
In 1969 after then government Prime Minister Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
conducted an alliance with the opposition party so as to vote a bill so as to postpone the general elections of 1972 which finally occurred in 1976 .Many supporters of both governmental party namely the Mauritian Labour Party
and the opposition party namely Mauritian Social Democrat Party
were discouraged and disgusted with the bad image of politics to remain in power .
Then Berenger created and founded the MMM ,political party known as the Mauritian Militant Movement
with a purple heart as its symbol .
The MMM is the only party which is structurally capable and stable as it has fought many general elections alone without alliances .Those of 1976 ,1983 ,1987 and 2010 proves it .Nevertheless ,the MMM is the most powerful on individual party comparison of the three main ones.
Anerood Jugnauth
won over the elections for the Prime Minister Candidate, Jugnauth was President of the MMM and was among few to propose candidacy to contest the post of Prime Minister. He was therefore declared Candidate to the post of Prime Minister while Berenger proposed to held the office of Minister of Finance in the Cabinet.
The results showed in a Hung-parliament situation of the National Assembly of Mauritius
. The MMM had won 34 seats, the Labours won 28 seats and the Social democrats won 8 seats. Nevertheless Ramgoolam contracted an alliance with the Social Democrats and made a majority of 36 seats. Jugnauth was appointed as Leader of the Opposition but it was Berenger who was the main opposition leader. Sir Anerood Jugnauth later declared that he was a part-time leader of the opposition. All the Parliamentary works of the opposition leader was being done by Berenger and only made signed by Jugnauth .
as prime minister and Harish Boodhoo as Deputy Prime Minister
.
In 1982 ,results were outstanding .The MMM had won all 60 seats in the parliament .Paul Berenger as proposed made Jugnauth Prime Minister and Boodhoo his deputy .Berenger was then appointed as Minister of Finance .
. Jugnauth expressed his disagreement with him as well Boodhoo .
Berenger proposed to replace Jugnauth and nominated another candidate ,namely Prem Nababsingh to hold the office of Prime Minister .Before passing the motion of no confidence in the parliament ,Jugnauth dissolved the assembly without any notice and resigned on the same as Prime Minister .
The PSM worked with Jugnauth and the team moved into a more powerful party known as the Militant Socialist Movement
,the MSM .Jugnauth led the MSM along with the support of an alliance with the Mauritius Labour Party and the Social Democrats.
The alliance won 41 seats out of 60 and the MMM received only 19 seats .Berenger was appointed as Leader of the opposition up to 1987 .
highest peak in politics as he remained in power for more than 13 years from 1982 .Jugnauth had previously made an alliance with Berenger in 1991 and was appointed as Minister of External Affairs .
In 1993 ,Jugnauth dismiss Berenger and all Members of the MMM from the government and thus formed a majority with the other parties .Berenger then made an alliance with Navin Ramgoolam
then new leader of the Mauritian Labour Party
.They made an alliance and agreed to propose Ramgoolam as Prime Minister and Berenger as his Deputy .
In 1995 ,the MLP-MMM alliance won the general elections creating the second 60-0 of the history after 1982 .The alliance won all the seats in parliament .Even Jugnauth lost his seat .
Berenger was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and served until 1997 when Ramgoolam dismissed the MMM from the government and formed his own government .
Berenger and Jugnauth were in a fight when Harish Boodhoo talked to both in a meeting which lasted one hour .It was known as the historical alliance where both the MSM and the MMM would have equal share in the government. It had never been made in the political history of the country .
The Number of Candidates proposed were 30 of the MSM and 30 of the MMM.It was agreed and proposed that Jugnauth will held the office of Prime Minister for 3 years and Berenger would take up for the resting of the term .They also agreed that after the three years ,Jugnauth would be sworn as President and that Pravind Jugnauth
would be sworn as Deputy Prime Minister .
Berenger agreed to the terms .The MSM/MMM
coalition fought the elections against then government coalition of Labour Party and the Social Democrats .
MSM/MMM won 54 seats out of 60 which was surprising .Navin Ramgoolam
was appointed as leader of the Opposition and Anerood Jugnauth made his comeback as Prime Minister .He formed a cabinet of 25 ministers as Berenger as Deputy Prime Minister
.
of Mauritius for three years and following the agreement, Anerood Jugnauth
resigned in September 2003 after serving for three years.
. The MMM lost elections again in 2010 and currently have 19 MPs in parliament with Paul Berenger again sitting a leader of opposition.
In August 2011, following allegations of corruption made by Paul Berenger on the purchase of the a medical clinic by the state, the ruling Bleu/Blanc/Rouge coalition crumbled with the MSM leaving the government.
These events have led the major political parties in Mauritius including Paul Berenger's MMM to start discussions upon the necessity of electoral reform.
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...
MP
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,...
(born 26 March 1945) is the Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...
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 former Prime Minister of the Republic
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...
. Bérenger, who is a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
of French descent
Franco-Mauritian
Franco-Mauritians are people of mainly French origin who reside in Mauritius. They number more than 24,000.-Origins:The first French settlers arrived in Mauritius in 1722, after the previous attempts of settlement by the Dutch had failed, and the island had once again become abandoned...
, is the only Prime Minister of Mauritius who was not a Hindu.
In 2003 Berenger took office of Prime Minister following the resignation of then Prime Minister Jugnauth
Anerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth , KCMG, QC, GCSK, PC, LLB, GOLH, GOP, ORS is the President of Mauritius and all its dependencies...
after serving as his deputy for three years .He held the office for a period of 1 year 9 months after his alliance lost the elections to the MLP and its leader, 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...
.
He has also held the office of Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in a Westminster System of parliamentary government...
from 1983 to 1987 and then Minister of External Affairs from 1991 to 1993 and has held the office of Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius
Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius
The Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius is a senior member of the Cabinet of Ministers in the country .He/she is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.Having the same name ,this position is not to be confused with the Vice Prime Minister of Mauritius who is just a senior...
twice from 1995 to 1997 and from 2000 to 2003 .In 1982 he was Minister of Finance same as from 2000 to 2003.
Berenger is of French descent
Franco-Mauritian
Franco-Mauritians are people of mainly French origin who reside in Mauritius. They number more than 24,000.-Origins:The first French settlers arrived in Mauritius in 1722, after the previous attempts of settlement by the Dutch had failed, and the island had once again become abandoned...
and was born in Mauritius. He is one of the most prominent political figure in the island and is considered to be popular as much as grand personalities as 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...
, 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...
& President Anerood Jugnauth
Anerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth , KCMG, QC, GCSK, PC, LLB, GOLH, GOP, ORS is the President of Mauritius and all its dependencies...
.He is the leader 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....
(MMM),which is one of the three most powerful political parties in the country others being 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...
(MSM) & 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...
(MLP).
Bérenger founded 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 1969 along with Dev Veerasawmy and the Jeerubarkhan brothers.It is known to be the best established political force in the country as it has often went for elections alone without big alliance.
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....
, the MMM formed a coalition with 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...
. They came to an agreement that the leader of the MSM, Anerood Jugnauth
Anerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth , KCMG, QC, GCSK, PC, LLB, GOLH, GOP, ORS is the President of Mauritius and all its dependencies...
, would serve as prime minister for the first three years of the five-year term of Parliament and Berenger would take over for the remaining two years of their term. This agreement was fulfilled; Berenger subsequently tried to run on his own in the following elections but lost to Navinchandra Ramgoolam in the 2005 elections
Mauritian general election, 2005
Mauritian general elections took place on 3 July 2005, with polls counted on 4 July.The Alliance Sociale, a coalition led by the Mauritian Labour Party and including the Mauritian Party of Xavier-Luc Duval , the Mauritian Social Democrat Party , Les Verts , the Republican Movement, and the...
.
Bérenger is an alumnus of the University College of North Wales in Bangor, now Bangor University
Bangor University
Bangor University is a university based in the city of Bangor in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales-United Kingdom.It was officially known for most of its history as the University College of North Wales...
.
Early Life & Education
Berenger was born to descendant of French origin who were established in Mauritius in ancient generations .He has had his high studies in UK and FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and in 1969 graduates from the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
with a BA Hons in philosophy and French. He later worked as Trade Unionist from 1970 to 1982 before winning the general elections .
Founder of the Mauritian Militant Movement
Berenger is the founding father of the Mauritian Militant MovementMauritian 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....
(Known as the MMM) ,one of the three most important parties 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...
,others being 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...
and 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...
.After completing his studies in UK ,he founded a small group of students known as (Mouvement Etudiants Mauricien) with Dev Virahsawmy and the Jeeroburkan brothers in 1968 .
In 1969 after then government Prime Minister 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....
conducted an alliance with the opposition party so as to vote a bill so as to postpone the general elections of 1972 which finally occurred in 1976 .Many supporters of both governmental party namely 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 the opposition party namely 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...
were discouraged and disgusted with the bad image of politics to remain in power .
Then Berenger created and founded the MMM ,political party known as 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....
with a purple heart as its symbol .
The MMM is the only party which is structurally capable and stable as it has fought many general elections alone without alliances .Those of 1976 ,1983 ,1987 and 2010 proves it .Nevertheless ,the MMM is the most powerful on individual party comparison of the three main ones.
1976 elections
In 1976 then Prime Minister, Ramgoolam announced general elections and proposed a fight of three, on one hand the Labour Party, the Mauritian Social Democrats and lastly the MMM.Anerood Jugnauth
Anerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth , KCMG, QC, GCSK, PC, LLB, GOLH, GOP, ORS is the President of Mauritius and all its dependencies...
won over the elections for the Prime Minister Candidate, Jugnauth was President of the MMM and was among few to propose candidacy to contest the post of Prime Minister. He was therefore declared Candidate to the post of Prime Minister while Berenger proposed to held the office of Minister of Finance in the Cabinet.
The results showed in a Hung-parliament situation of the National Assembly of Mauritius
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...
. The MMM had won 34 seats, the Labours won 28 seats and the Social democrats won 8 seats. Nevertheless Ramgoolam contracted an alliance with the Social Democrats and made a majority of 36 seats. Jugnauth was appointed as Leader of the Opposition but it was Berenger who was the main opposition leader. Sir Anerood Jugnauth later declared that he was a part-time leader of the opposition. All the Parliamentary works of the opposition leader was being done by Berenger and only made signed by Jugnauth .
1982 Elections
In fear of communal campaigning ,Paul Berenger made an alliance with then Mauritian Socialist Party and its leader ,Harish Boodhoo .He hoped that the PSM would draw most Hindu votes as Hindu was of majority in the country .He still proposed Anerood JugnauthAnerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth , KCMG, QC, GCSK, PC, LLB, GOLH, GOP, ORS is the President of Mauritius and all its dependencies...
as prime minister and Harish Boodhoo as Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius
The Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius is a senior member of the Cabinet of Ministers in the country .He/she is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.Having the same name ,this position is not to be confused with the Vice Prime Minister of Mauritius who is just a senior...
.
In 1982 ,results were outstanding .The MMM had won all 60 seats in the parliament .Paul Berenger as proposed made Jugnauth Prime Minister and Boodhoo his deputy .Berenger was then appointed as Minister of Finance .
1983 Elections and Leader of the Opposition
In early 1983 ,Berenger proposed to make an constitutional amendment ,the one in which the Prime Minister would hold no executive power but the decisions would be taken the CabinetCabinet 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...
. Jugnauth expressed his disagreement with him as well Boodhoo .
Berenger proposed to replace Jugnauth and nominated another candidate ,namely Prem Nababsingh to hold the office of Prime Minister .Before passing the motion of no confidence in the parliament ,Jugnauth dissolved the assembly without any notice and resigned on the same as Prime Minister .
The PSM worked with Jugnauth and the team moved into a more powerful party known as 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...
,the MSM .Jugnauth led the MSM along with the support of an alliance with the Mauritius Labour Party and the Social Democrats.
The alliance won 41 seats out of 60 and the MMM received only 19 seats .Berenger was appointed as Leader of the opposition up to 1987 .
1995 & Onwards
Winning 3 general elections in a row ,showed Anerood JugnauthAnerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth , KCMG, QC, GCSK, PC, LLB, GOLH, GOP, ORS is the President of Mauritius and all its dependencies...
highest peak in politics as he remained in power for more than 13 years from 1982 .Jugnauth had previously made an alliance with Berenger in 1991 and was appointed as Minister of External Affairs .
In 1993 ,Jugnauth dismiss Berenger and all Members of the MMM from the government and thus formed a majority with the other parties .Berenger then made an alliance with 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...
then new leader of 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...
.They made an alliance and agreed to propose Ramgoolam as Prime Minister and Berenger as his Deputy .
In 1995 ,the MLP-MMM alliance won the general elections creating the second 60-0 of the history after 1982 .The alliance won all the seats in parliament .Even Jugnauth lost his seat .
Berenger was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and served until 1997 when Ramgoolam dismissed the MMM from the government and formed his own government .
2000 Elections and Premiership
In 1999 ,the national electoral polls showed that the Labour Party received the highest appreciation and was the favorite to win the next elections to be held in 2000 .Berenger and Jugnauth were in a fight when Harish Boodhoo talked to both in a meeting which lasted one hour .It was known as the historical alliance where both the MSM and the MMM would have equal share in the government. It had never been made in the political history of the country .
The Number of Candidates proposed were 30 of the MSM and 30 of the MMM.It was agreed and proposed that Jugnauth will held the office of Prime Minister for 3 years and Berenger would take up for the resting of the term .They also agreed that after the three years ,Jugnauth would be sworn as President and that 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...
would be sworn as Deputy Prime Minister .
Berenger agreed to the terms .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...
coalition fought the elections against then government coalition of Labour Party and the Social Democrats .
MSM/MMM won 54 seats out of 60 which was surprising .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...
was appointed as leader of the Opposition and Anerood Jugnauth made his comeback as Prime Minister .He formed a cabinet of 25 ministers as Berenger as 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...
.
Prime minister
Paul Berenger remained Deputy Prime MinisterDeputy 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...
of Mauritius for three years and following the agreement, Anerood Jugnauth
Anerood Jugnauth
Sir Anerood Jugnauth , KCMG, QC, GCSK, PC, LLB, GOLH, GOP, ORS is the President of Mauritius and all its dependencies...
resigned in September 2003 after serving for three years.
Leader of the Opposition
Paul Berenger has been the leader of the opposition since 2007 after the MMM lost the general elections in 2005 to the Alliance Sociale coalition led by Dr 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...
. The MMM lost elections again in 2010 and currently have 19 MPs in parliament with Paul Berenger again sitting a leader of opposition.
In August 2011, following allegations of corruption made by Paul Berenger on the purchase of the a medical clinic by the state, the ruling Bleu/Blanc/Rouge coalition crumbled with the MSM leaving the government.
These events have led the major political parties in Mauritius including Paul Berenger's MMM to start discussions upon the necessity of electoral reform.