Navin Ramgoolam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Navin Ramgoolam
GCSK FRCP
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Ramgoolam in 2018
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| 3rd Prime Minister of Mauritius | |
| Assumed office 13 November 2024 |
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| President | Prithvirajsing Roopun Dharam Gokhool |
| Vice President | Eddy Boissezon Robert Hungley |
| Deputy | Paul Berenger |
| Preceded by | Pravind Jugnauth |
| In office 5 July 2005 – 17 December 2014 |
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| President | |
| Vice President | Raouf Bundhun Angidi Chettiar Monique Ohsan Bellepeau |
| Deputy | Rashid Beebeejaun |
| Preceded by | Paul Bérenger |
| Succeeded by | Anerood Jugnauth |
| In office 27 December 1995 – 11 September 2000 |
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| President | Cassam Uteem |
| Deputy | Paul Berenger Kailash Purryag |
| Preceded by | Anerood Jugnauth |
| Succeeded by | Anerood Jugnauth |
| 7th Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 11 September 2000 – 4 July 2005 |
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| Prime Minister |
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| Preceded by | Paul Berenger |
| Succeeded by | Paul Bérenger |
| In office 15 September 1991 – 20 December 1995 |
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| Prime Minister | Anerood Jugnauth |
| Preceded by | Prem Nababsing |
| Succeeded by | Nicholas |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Navinchandra Ramgoolam
14 July 1947 Port Louis, British Mauritius |
| Citizenship | |
| Political party | Labour Party |
| Spouse | Veena Ramgoolam (Brizmohun) (1979–present) |
| Children | Xara Keiron Chandra Soornack (born 2009) |
| Parents |
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| Residences | Riverwalk, Floreal |
| Alma mater |
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| Profession | Politician, physician |
| Signature |  |
Navinchandra Ramgoolam (born 14 July 1947) is a Mauritian politician and physician serving as prime minister of Mauritius for the third time following the 2024 general election, after the landslide victory of his coalition Alliance du Changement. He is a prominent figure in the political history of Mauritius, having served multiple terms as the Prime Minister of the country. He is also the leader of the Labour Party.
Following former prime minister Pravind Jugnauth's resignation, Ramgoolam was sworn in as prime minister at the State House of Mauritius in the presence of President Prithvirajsing Roopun.
Ramgoolam was prime minister for the first time from December 1995 until September 2000 and then became leader of the opposition again from October 2000 to 4 July 2005. On 5 July 2005, he became prime minister for a second term after his coalition, Alliance Sociale, won the general elections. He was re-elected prime minister in 2005, serving until 2014.
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Early life and education
Navin Ramgoolam was born on 14 July 1947 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. Immigration records indicate that they belonged to the Kurmi or the Koeri caste.
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.
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.
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.
Political career
1995 elections
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Ramgoolam has criticised the agreement negotiated by the government of Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth with the United Kingdom in 2024 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
France:
Grand Officer of the Order of Legion of Honour
India:
Recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2008)
Mauritius:
Grand Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (2008)
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Honours
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Ramgoolam has received several 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, Dr Honoris Causa from Aligarh Muslim University, India and Dr Honoris Causa by the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India in October 2005. Other awards he attained are the Grand Officier de la Legion d'Honneur from France in March 2006, the Honorary Freeman of Rodrigues from Rodrigues Regional Assembly in March 2007, The Wilberforce Medal from Wilberforce Lecture Trust, Hull, United Kingdom in June 2007, The Rajiv Gandhi Award from Mumbai Regional Congress Committee, India in August 2007, The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award from Government of the Republic 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 high 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 Doctor by Staffordshire University, United Kingdom in July 2010, Order of the Rule of Law by the World Jurist Association, Bethesda, Maryland, USA in April 2011, Overseas Bencher by the Inner Temple, United Kingdom in April 2011 and Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) by the Kurukshetra University, Haryana, India in February 2012.
See also
In Spanish: Navinchandra Ramgoolam para niños
- List of prime ministers of Mauritius
- Bihari Mauritians
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