Anerood Jugnauth obit

Mauritius former prime minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth dies aged 91

 He was not on the list.

The former Prime Minister and President of the Republic of Mauritius, Sir Anerood Jugnauth has died at the age of 91.

He is the country's longest-serving prime minister with more than 18 years of tenure. He was considered the father of the Mauritian economic miracle of the 1980s.

Jugnauth held the post of Prime Minister between 1982 and 1995, then again between 2000 and 2003, and later between 2014 and 2017, before passing the torch to his son, Pravind Jugnauth, who is the current Prime Minister of Mauritius.

He served six terms as Prime Minister, two terms as President and one term as Leader of Opposition. Often called the father of the Mauritian economic miracle, he led Mauritius through unprecedented economic growth and modernization as both Prime Minister and President.

Under his leadership, Mauritius became a republic in 1992, improved living standards, expanded social welfare, and secured UNESCO World Heritage Sites. He also championed Mauritius’s sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago internationally, leaving a legacy of economic prosperity and political stability for the country.

Jugnauth was born in Palma, Mauritius in a Bhojpuri speaking Hindu Indo-Mauritian family belonging to the Ahir broader Yadav community and was brought up there. His grandfather had migrated to Mauritius from the Ballia District of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh in the 1870s.His father was Ramlochun Jugnauth and his mother was Soomeetra Ramnath. His parents separated when he was a child and he was brought up by his father, step-mother and elder cousin Lall Jugnauth. He had his primary education at Palma Primary School and 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 at the Lincoln's Inn, and became a lawyer in 1954.