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Navin Ramgoolam

Prime Minister of Mauritius (1995–2000; 2005–2014; since 2024)

Navin Ramgoolam

Prime Minister of Mauritius (1995–2000; 2005–2014; since 2024)

FieldValue
nameNavin Ramgoolam
honorific-prefixThe Honourable
honorific-suffixGCSK FRCP
imageNavin Ramgoolam, 2024.jpg
captionRamgoolam in 2024
officePrime Minister of Mauritius
term_start12 November 2024
presidentPrithvirajsing Roopun
Dharam Gokhool
deputyPaul Bérenger
predecessorPravind Jugnauth
term_start15 July 2005
term_end113 December 2014
president1
deputy1Rashid Beebeejaun
predecessor1Paul Bérenger
successor1Anerood Jugnauth
term_start227 December 1995
term_end216 September 2000
president2Cassam Uteem
deputy2Paul Bérenger
Kailash Purryag
predecessor2Anerood Jugnauth
successor2Anerood Jugnauth
{{collapsed infobox section beginlastyesMinisterial offices 1997–present
titlestyleborder:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholderembed=yes
orderMinister of Finance
primeministerHimself
term_start22 November 2024
predecessorRenganaden Padayachy
primeminister1Himself
term_start16 June 2014
term_end113 December 2014
predecessor1Xavier-Luc Duval
successor1Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo
order2Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Cooperation
primeminister2Himself
term_start217 March 2008
term_end213 September 2008
predecessor2Madan Dulloo
successor2Arvin Boolell
primeminister3Himself
term_start320 June 1997
term_end35 July 1997
predecessor3Paul Bérenger
successor3Kailash Purryag
{{collapsed infobox section beginlastyesSenior political offices 1991–2005
titlestyleborder:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholderembed=yes
officeLeader of the Opposition
term_start16 September 2000
term_end4 July 2005
primeminister
predecessorPaul Bérenger
successorPaul Bérenger
term_start115 September 1991
term_end115 December 1995
primeminister1Anerood Jugnauth
predecessor1Prem Nababsing
successor1Gaëtan Duval
contyes
lastyes
titlestyleborder:1px dashed lightgrey;
embedyes
office
term_start11 November 2024
predecessorSoodesh Satkam Callichurn
term_start115 September 1991
term_end16 October 2014
predecessor1Vishwanath Sajadah
successor1Soodesh Satkam Callichurn}}
birth_nameNavinchandra Ramgoolam
birth_date
birth_placePort Louis, British Mauritius
citizenship
partyLabour Party
spouse
parents
childrenXara Keiron Chandra Soornack (born 2009)
residenceRiverwalk, Floreal
alma_mater
signatureNavin Ramgoolam Signature.svg
countryMauritius
professionPolitician, physician

| honorific-prefix = The Honourable | honorific-suffix = GCSK FRCP Dharam Gokhool Kailash Purryag

| Parliamentary offices Navinchandra Ramgoolam (born 14 July 1947) is a Mauritian politician who is the current prime minister of Mauritius, serving since 2024. He previously held the office from 1995 to 2000 and from 2005 to 2014 and intermittently served as leader of the opposition when not in office.

Ramgoolam is the son of former prime minister and governor-general Seewoosagur Ramgoolam and has led the Labour Party since 1991. After an astounding defeat in the 2000 General Elections, he became prime minister for a second term after his coalition, Alliance Sociale, won the 2005 General Elections. The 2024 general election saw the landslide victory of his coalition Alliance du Changement. Following Pravind Jugnauth's resignation as prime minister, Ramgoolam was sworn in for a third time at the State House of Mauritius in the presence of President Prithvirajsing Roopun.

Early life and education

Navin Ramgoolam was born to Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (SSR) and Sushil Ramjoorawon in Port Louis. SSR was the 6th governor general of Mauritius, as well as the first chief minister and prime minister of Mauritius. In the 1800s, his ancestors migrated to Mauritius from Harigaon in the Bhojpur district, Bihar and belonged to the Kushwaha community.

Ramgoolam attended the Royal College Curepipe from 1960 to 1966 and then studied medicine in Ireland between 1968 and 1975, where he obtained the LRCP&SI from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Ramgoolam's early life was marked by significant personal and professional transitions. In December 1985, following the death of his father, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the first prime minister of Mauritius, Ramgoolam was on the verge of emigrating to Canada; however, he was persuaded by Sir Satcam Boolell, then leader of the Labour Party, and Paul Bérenger, leader of the Mauritian Militant Movement, to return to Mauritius. They encouraged him to assume the leadership of the Labour Party with the aim of forming a political alliance to challenge Anerood Jugnauth in the upcoming general elections.

During this period, Ramgoolam worked as a physician at Dr A.G. Jeetoo Hospital in Mauritius from 1985 to 1987. In 1987, he moved to the United Kingdom to pursue legal studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science, part of the University of London. After completing his LLB degree in 1990, he returned to Mauritius and became the leader of the Labour Party, subsequently contesting the 1991 general election as its candidate.

Navin Ramgoolam with prime minister of India [[Manmohan Singh
Navin Ramgoolam with the Obamas

Political career

1995 elections

Main article: 1995 Mauritian general election

The Labour Party and the MMM went on to forge an alliance to contest the 1995 elections. The alliance won all 60 directly elected seats from the mainland (with Labour taking 35 seats and the MMM 25). Ramgoolam became prime minister with Bérenger as his deputy. The coalition soon fractured and Ramgoolam dismissed Bérenger in 1997. Bérenger then became leader of the opposition and Ramgoolam formed a one-party government.

2000 elections

Main article: 2000 Mauritian general election

Jugnauth and Bérenger formed a new alliance to contest the 2000 elections. Part of the agreement was to allow Jugnauth to serve for the first three years of the five-year term, then resign to assume the Presidency and allow Bérenger to complete his unexpired term. Ramgoolam, for his part, formed an alliance with the Mauritian Party of Xavier-Luc Duval (PMXD), a breakaway from the PMSD led by Xavier-Luc Duval, the son of Sir Gaëtan Duval. The MSM/MMM alliance won 54 of the 60 directly elected mainland seats. Ramgoolam, who had retained his own seat, became leader of the opposition.

2005 elections

Main article: 2005 Mauritian general election

His Alliance Social won the general elections against the MSM/MMM outgoing government. He was again appointed as prime minister with a majority of 38 out of 60 seats. His alliance also won the local/municipal elections in 2006 where the MSM/MMM was severely defeated. These consecutive defeats and internal instability caused the break-up of the MSM/MMM coalition.

As the MSM had more seats than the MMM and Pravind Jugnauth was not elected, Nando Bodha was appointed as leader of the opposition.

2010 elections

Main article: 2010 Mauritian general election

With the 2010 elections approaching, Ramgoolam decided in 2008 to support Jugnauth for re-election as president, to forestall a possible return by Jugnauth to parliamentary politics, where Ramgoolam viewed him as a potential threat. Jugnauth's condition for accepting the offer was an alliance between the Labour Party and the MSM. At Ramgoolam's insistence, the Alliance de L'Avenir also included the PMSD, into which the PMXD, and its leader, Xavier-Luc Duval, had merged; seven of the sixty parliamentary candidates would come from the PMSD).

The Alliance de L'Avenir won 41 of the 60 directly elected seats. Ramgoolam remained prime minister and Pravind Jugnauth, son of Sir Anerood Jugnauth, became his Deputy. Following the involvement of some members of the MSM in the Medpoint Scandal, however, Ramgoolam dismissed the MSM from the government.

2014 elections

Main article: 2014 Mauritian general election

The general elections originally scheduled for 2015 were brought forward to December 2014. The Labour Party made a new alliance with the MMM, proposing a constitutional amendment to upgrade the presidency to a less ceremonial role. Ramgoolam and Bérenger, the MMM leader, claimed that the election was a referendum on the proposal, which they called the Second Republic. If the alliance won more than 45 of the 60 directly elected mainland seats, the Constitution would be amended; Ramgoolam would run for the presidency and Bérenger would succeed him as prime minister.

Ramgoolam and Berenger were opposed by the MSM-led Alliance Lepep, which also included the PMSD, which had been Ramgoolam's coalition partner, and a new party called Muvman Liberater, formed by a significant portion of ex-members of the MMM who were opposed to the idea of giving Ramgoolam more powers. The Alliance Lepep, which opposed the proposal for the Second Republic, won 47 seats out of 60. The Labour-MMM alliance won only 13 seats, 9 from the MMM and 4 from the Labour Party. Ramgoolam lost his seat for the first time in his political career. On 12 December 2014, he resigned as Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was so disgruntled about the loss of his seat in 2014 that, 3 years later, at a Divali Show event in 2017 he called voters of Constituency No.5 Triolet "stupid" and that they were better voters during the days when illiteracy was rampant in Mauritius, given that they were easier to manipulate. Ramgoolam compared his 2014 electoral wipe out to that of his father Seewoosagur Ramgoolam at the 1982 Mauritian general election. He also revealed that there was too much infighting amongst the political agents within the Labour Party.

2019 elections

Main article: 2019 Mauritian general election

Although he was not elected at the 2014 elections in Constituency No.5 Triolet, Ramgoolam retained leadership of the Labour Party and again presented himself as the party's leader at the November 2019 elections. Before the elections he made a coalition with the Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate and Mouvement Jean-Claude Barbier which became known as Alliance Nationale. Instead of choosing Constituency No.5 Triolet, this time Ramgoolam stood as candidate in Constituency No.10 Montagne Blanche and Grand River South East. He revealed that his change of constituency was the result of a consultation that he had with a Christian priest who believed that Constituency No.10 would bring him more luck as his grand parents lived there, and that Constituency No.5 Triolet brought him bad luck as his father Seewoosagur was cremated there. However, once again Ramgoolam was not elected to the National Assembly. He was so disgruntled by his second consecutive defeat at the 2014 and 2019 general elections that he publicly blamed women for their way of voting, he also legally contested the results and made the Electoral Commissioner (Irfan Raman) his main target of legal action.

2024 elections

Main article: 2024 Mauritian general election

The general election was scheduled on 10 November 2024, where the Labour Party together with the MMM, Nouveau Démocrate and Rezistans ek Alternativ formed the "Alliance du changement", to oppose the "Alliance Lepep" which composed of the MSM, Muvman Liberater and the PMSD. The Alliance du changement won the general election with a 60–0 in its favour.

Political views

In 2024, Ramgoolam criticised the agreement negotiated by the government of Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth with the United Kingdom that allowed for the return of the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritian control, describing it as a "sellout". After being elected as prime minister later that year, Ramgoolam ordered an independent review of the agreement.

Awards and decorations

National honours

  • [[File:Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean - GCSK, GOSK, CSK (Mauritius) - ribbon bar.png|70px]] Grand Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (2008)

Foreign honours

  • France:
    • [[File:Legion Honneur GC ribbon.svg|70px]] Grand Cross of the Order of Legion of Honour
  • India:
    • [[File:Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Ribbon.png|70px]] Recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2008)

Honours

Ramgoolam has received many accolades and honours.

In 1998 he was made an honorary fellow of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Dr Honoris Causa by the University of Mauritius, doctor honoris causa from Aligarh Muslim University, India and doctor honoris causa by the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India in October 2005.

He was made a Grand officier de la Légion d'honneur (France) in March 2006, the Honorary Freeman of Rodrigues from Rodrigues Regional Assembly in March 2007; the Wilberforce Medal from Wilberforce Lecture Trust, Hull, UK, in June 2007; The Rajiv Gandhi Award from Mumbai Regional Congress Committee, India, in August 2007; the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award from Government of India in January 2008 as well as Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (GCSK) from the Government of the Republic of Mauritius in March 2008. In Paris, Ramgoolam received the Prix Louise Michel, awarded generally each year to a personality in recognition of his or her outstanding contribution in the political field. He was made Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) by the Padmashree Dr D. Y. Patil University, Mumbai, India in February 2009, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) of the Royal College of Physicians, London in May 2009, honorary doctorate by Staffordshire University, United Kingdom in July 2010, Order of the Rule of Law by the World Jurist Association, United States, in April 2011, Overseas Bencher by the Inner Temple, UK, in April 2011 and Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) by the Kurukshetra University, Haryana, India in February 2012.

Personal life

On 8 July 1979, Ramgoolam married Veena Brizmohun, a Mauritian who grew up in England and was studying social sciences at the University of London. The wedding ceremony, held at Cinema BDC in Quatre Bornes, was attended by Governor General Dayendranath Burrenchobay, opposition leader Anerood Jugnauth, and others. The newly-wed couple returned to London where Veena planned to complete her studies, and her husband wanted to specialise in cardiology.

References

References

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  2. (15 December 2015). "Nandanee Soornack en Italie: Elle dévoile la paternité de sa fille pour éviter la déportation". 5Plus.
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  4. (5 July 2005). "New broom's promise to sweep clean". The New Humanitarian.
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  6. (13 November 2024). "Île Maurice : après sa large victoire aux élections législatives, Navin Ramgoolam prête serment {{!}} TV5MONDE - Informations". information.tv5monde.com.
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  9. "Gender and Politicised Religion (PDF Download Available)".
  10. (September 11, 2025). "Mauritius PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam's India visit underscores deep cultural links: Tracing his Bihar ancestry".
  11. (4 April 2022). "Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (1900-1985)".
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  13. (19 October 2017). "Navin Ramgoolam règle ses comptes avec Triolet 19 October 2017". L'Express.
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  43. (13 April 2014). "Le Premier Ministre à Londres: Navin Ramgoolam, un citoyen comme un autre". Le Mauricien.
  44. "Opération Lakaz Lerwa Lion: Le rapport du FBI, la clé du coffre-fort de Ramgoolam 22-Oct-2017". Le Mauricien Weekend.
  45. (23 October 2019). "Navingate: un épisode 2 sur Roches-Noires…". L'Express.
  46. (18 January 2015). "Affaire Roches-Noires". 5 Plus.
  47. "Affaire Roches-Noires : Navin Ramgoolam et la mort d'Anand Ramdhony". Defimedia.
  48. (29 November 2018). "Affaire Roches-Noires: Sooroojebally était présent le 3 juillet 2011". L'Express.
  49. "Des allégations de blanchiment d'argent pèsent toujours sur Navin Ramgoolam". MoPays.
  50. "Découvrez en Exclusivité le Contenu Détaillé des Valises et Coffres-Forts de Navin Ramgoolam". Business Mega.
  51. "Coffres de Ramgoolam: Rs 800 M et des Dopants Sexuels…". Business Mega.
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  53. "Preliminary charges dropped against Navin Ramgoolam".
  54. https://supremecourt.govmu.org/HighlightDoc/prov%20information-%20N%20ramgooolam.pdf {{Dead link. (February 2022)
  55. "Écoutes téléphoniques : au cœur d'une cellule ultra-secrète". Defimedia.
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  57. "Prix Nicolas Lambert : Abhi Ramsahaye et Yaasin Pohrun du Défi Media Group primés 29-Jan-2017". Defimedia.
  58. "Nouvelle vidéo attribuée à «Missie Moustass» : la bande sonore est fausse, selon un détecteur et un expert 29-Oct-2024". Defimedia.
  59. (28 October 2024). "Navin Ramgoolam: Mo pa interese ek lavi mo adverser 28 Oct 2024". Le Mauricien.
  60. (19 October 2024). "Exposed: L'écoute téléphonique à Maurice confirmée par «Missie Moustass» 19 Oct 2024". L'Express.
  61. (3 February 2020). "Tout va très bien Madame La Marquise 03-Feb-2020". 5Plus.
  62. (28 December 2014). "List of Previous Pravasi Bhartiya Samman".
  63. "CURRICULUM VITAE". [[Government of Mauritius]].
  64. "Bio-data of Dr The Honourable Navinchandra Ramgoolam". Government of Mauritius.
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