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Pravind Kumar Jugnauth (born 25 December 1961) is a Mauritian politician serving as the
prime minister of Mauritius The prime minister of Mauritius (french: link=no, Premier Ministre de Maurice) is the head of government of Mauritius. He presides over the Cabinet of Ministers, which advises the president of the country and is collectively responsible to t ...
since January 2017. Jugnauth has been the leader of the
Militant Socialist Movement The Militant Socialist Movement (french: Mouvement Socialiste Militant; abbreviated MSM) is a centre-left political party in Mauritius. It is the largest single political party in the National Assembly of Mauritius, winning 42 of the 69 seats in ...
(MSM) party since April 2003. He has held a number of ministerial portfolios and also been Leader of the Opposition.


Early life and education

Born on 25 December 1961 in La Caverne, a suburb area in
Vacoas-Phoenix Vacoas-Phoenix () also known as French: ''Villes Jumelles'' (Twin Cities), is a town in Mauritius, located in the Plaines Wilhems District, the eastern part also lies in the Moka District. The town is administered by the Municipal Council of Vac ...
,
Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...
, Jugnauth was born into a Hindu
Yaduvanshi Yadu () is the founder of the Yadu dynasty in Hinduism. He is described to be the eldest son of King Yayati, and his queen, Devayani. Legend According to a narrative found in the Mahabharata, and the Vishnu Purana, Yadu refused to exchange ...
family. He was born to Anerood Jugnauth, a barrister, and Sarojini Ballah, a schoolteacher. He has an elder sister, Shalini Jugnauth-Malhotra. After primary schooling at Aryan Vedic, he studied at
Royal College Curepipe The Royal College Curepipe (commonly known as RCC) is a public secondary school with high admission standards in Curepipe, Mauritius. Since 1791 it has been regarded as one of the most prestigious secondary schools in Mauritius. In the past, ...
. He then went on to study law at the University of Buckingham, thus joining the Lincoln's Inn, and became a barrister. He then joined Aix-Marseille University in France where he graduated with a ''"''diploma in civil law''."''


Family life

Pravind Jugnauth married Kobita Ramdanee in 1992 and is the father of three daughters: Sonika, Sonali and Sara.


Start of political career

Pravind Jugnauth entered the political arena in 1987 and officially joined the MSM in 1990.


2000 to 2005

As Minister of Agriculture from 7 September 2000 to 7 October 2003 (under MSM-MMM government), Jugnauth reformed the sugar sector by diversification with the production of ethanol, agricultural rhum, special sugars, electricity generation from bagasse and other high value-added products. Besides production costs were significantly reduced in response to a drop in the protected sugar price under the Sugar Protocol with the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
. He also negotiated a package for workers under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme which enabled around 8000 workers to retire with cash compensation exceeding 2.5  billion rupees and around 825 arpents of land worth 3  billion rupees. Jugnauth also encouraged hydroponics and other modern methods of agricultural production as well as agricultural biotechnology research. He created a National Agricultural Biotechnology Institute and Food Technology Laboratory in Mauritius and later launched the Small Planters Welfare Fund. The fund caters to the welfare of planters and their families and provides crop insurance schemes designed to financially support planters whose crops are affected by unfavourable weather conditions. As Finance Minister from 7 October 2003 to 5 July 2005, Jugnauth reduced taxes on thousands of commodities. He increased subsidies on basic commodities and gave salary compensations well above inflation rates in two successive years. He launched a project to make Mauritius a Duty Free Island.


2005 to 2009

In June 2005 Prime Minister Paul Berenger dissolved the Parliament in preparation for the 2005 General Elections. The Labour-led
Alliance Sociale Alliance Sociale was a left-wing political coalition in Mauritius. It consisted of the Mauritian Labour Party, Mauritian Party of Xavier-Luc Duval, The Greens, Republican Movement and the Mauritian Militant Socialist Movement. The Alliance wo ...
won a total seat of 38 against the MSM-MMM alliance which obtained only 24 seats. Pravind Jugnauth was defeated in his constituency, received 48% of vote and was not elected. Paul Berenger became Leader of the Opposition made up of MSM (14 seats) and MMM (10 seats). In 2006 MP Ashok Jugnauth left the MSM party and formed a new party following a dispute with Pravind Jugnauth regarding the leadership of the party. At that time Pravind was not an elected member of Parliament but still held leadership of the MSM.
Nando Bodha Nandcoomar Bodha MP (born नन्दकुमार बोधा on 3 February 1954) is a Mauritian politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mauritius. He was also the Minister of Tourism & Leisure of Mauritius. He has been holdin ...
the general secretary of the MSM became Leader of the Opposition after the MSM-MMM alliance split up due to Pravind Jugnauth's disapproval of Paul Berenger's request to make Rajesh Bhagwan the Opposition Chief Whip. In 2007 two members of MSM (Joe Lesongard the party's president and Sekar Naidu) left the MSM and swore allegiance to Berenger who became Leader of the Opposition.


2009 By-Elections

Ashok Jugnauth Ashock Kumar Jugnauth, also known as Ashok Jugnauth (born आशोक कुमार जग्नोथ on 3 January 1951) is a Mauritian politician and former Member of Parliament. Early life and career Jugnauth was born at Palma, Quatre ...
(half-brother of
Sir Anerood Jugnauth Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, PV, (29 March 1930 – 3 June 2021) was a Mauritian politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart. A central f ...
and uncle of Pravind) had been elected as MSM member of parliament in Constituency No.8 Quartier Militaire and Moka. But he had to resign in November 2008 as the British Privy Council upheld the guilty verdict that the Supreme Court of Mauritius had issued in 2007 following charges of electoral bribery during the campaign leading to the 2015 General Elections. Thus by-elections had to be held in 2009. Ashok Jugnauth stood as a candidate with the support of MMM. The Labour Party supported Pravind Jugnauth who then announced his candidacy in the 8th constituency. On 2 March 2009, Pravind Jugnauth won the by-elections. His victory paved the way for the next alliance (Labour Party-MSM) during the 2010 general elections.


2009-2014

In 2009, MSM formed a coalition known as Alliance de L'Avenir or Ptr-MSM-PMSD by joining forces with the
Mauritian Labour Party The Labour Party (french: Parti Travailliste, PTr) is a centre-left social-democratic political party in Mauritius. It is one of four main Mauritian political parties along, with the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), the Militant Socialist Mov ...
and
Mauritian Social Democrat Party Mauritians (singular Mauritian; french: Mauricien; Creole: ''Morisien'') are nationals or natives of the Republic of Mauritius and their descendants. Mauritius is a multi-ethnic society, with notable groups of people of South Asian (notably I ...
. The coalition won the May 2010 elections. On Navin Ramgoolam's advice, President
Sir Anerood Jugnauth Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, PV, (29 March 1930 – 3 June 2021) was a Mauritian politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart. A central f ...
then appointed Jugnauth Vice Prime Minister & Minister of Finance as of 11 May 2010. On 26 July 2011 Jugnauth and all other MSM ministers resigned due to the scandal known as the MedPoint Affair. In 2014, following the resignation of Paul Berenger as Leader of the Opposition, President
Kailash Purryag Rajkeswur Purryag, GCSK (born 12 December 1947, also known as Kailash Purryag) is a former Mauritian politician who served as the fifth president of Mauritius from 2012 to May 2015. He was elected president of Mauritius by the National Assembly ...
appointed Jugnauth to the office. Jugnauth served as Leader of the Opposition from September to December 2014.


2014-2017

He was appointed Minister of Information Technology following the Alliance Lepep's victory.


2017-2019

On 23 January 2017, he was chosen by his party MSM to lead the National Assembly. This triggered the ruling coalition partner Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate to leave the government and join the Opposition. Pravind Jugnauth served as Prime Minister of Mauritius during the second half of the Alliance Lepep's mandate which concluded with general elections in November 2019.


2019–present

Following the victory of the Alliance Morisien (a coalition of MSM-ML-MAG parties) at the 2019 General Elections Pravind Jugnauth was elected as Prime Minister for a five-year mandate. The sovereignty of the
Chagos Archipelago The Chagos Archipelago () or Chagos Islands (formerly the Bassas de Chagas, and later the Oil Islands) is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 kilometres (310 mi) south of the Maldives arc ...
in the Indian Ocean is
disputed Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...
between the United Kingdom and Mauritius. In February 2019, the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...
in The Hague ruled that the United Kingdom must transfer the islands to Mauritius as they were illegally separated from the latter in 1965. The UK does not recognise Mauritius' sovereignty claim over the Chagos Archipelago. In October 2020, Jugnauth described the British and American governments as "hypocrites" and "champions of double talk" over their response to the dispute.


Recognition and awards

Pravind Jugnauth was honoured Doctor from the University of Buckingham with an '' Honoris Causa'' in 2005. In 2017 he has awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the President of India.


Controversies

In 2010, the PTR-MSM-PMSD government acknowledged the need to create a specialized centre for geriatric care. Thus the cabinet of Ministers approved the purchase of the existing MedPoint Private Clinic which was owned by Dr. Krishnan Malhotra and Mrs Shalini Devi Jugnauth-Malhotra. The latter is the sister of then Minister of Finance Pravind Jugnauth and daughter of then President
Sir Anerood Jugnauth Sir Anerood Jugnauth, GCSK, PV, (29 March 1930 – 3 June 2021) was a Mauritian politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. He was Member of Parliament for Piton & Riviere Du Rempart. A central f ...
. The objective was to convert the hospital into a specialised centre. On 22 July 2011 following an investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), then Minister of Health
Maya Hanoomanjee Santi Bai 'Maya' Hanoomanjee Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean, GCSK (Hindi:माया हनुमानजी Born GHOSE, on 5 October 1952) is the High Commissioner of Mauritius to India. She is a Mauritian politician and former Ci ...
was arrested by the ICAC Police and the government chief valuer was suspended from his duties. Pravind Jugnauth was also arrested on charges of "conflict of interest". This became known as the MedPoint Affair. On 30 June 2015 Jugnauth was found guilty under Article 13 of the Prevention Of Corruption Act 2002 (PoCA). He was sentenced by the Intermediate court of Mauritius for 1 year of imprisonment. However, he appealed to the Supreme Court of Mauritius and won his appeal.
The prosecution appealed to the Privy Council, but the prosecution appeal was unsuccessful. On 26 December 2012 Pravind Jugnauth was arrested and interrogated by Central CID on charges of sedition. This followed a complaint lodged by former minister
Sheila Bappoo Sheilabai Bappoo (born Rama on 16 June 1947 in Beau Bassin, Mauritius) is a Mauritius politician, Minister of Social Security, National Solidarity and Senior Citizens Welfare & Reform Institutions in Mauritius from 2005 to 2010. She also held th ...
of the Labour Party after Pravind Jugnauth's revelations about the abuse of power and financial scandals involving Navin Ramgoolam's girlfriend Nandanee Soornack. Pravind Jugnauth's arrest was decried as being arbitrary and a form of harassment by Navin Ramgoolam, as the previous application of the anti-sedition law dated back to 1972. Lawyer Roshi Bhadain assisted Pravind Jugnauth in his legal defence.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jugnauth, Pravind 1961 births Children of national leaders Government ministers of Mauritius Deputy Prime Ministers of Mauritius Living people 20th-century Mauritian lawyers Mauritian Hindus Mauritian politicians of Indian descent Members of the National Assembly (Mauritius) Militant Socialist Movement politicians People from Plaines Wilhems District University of Provence alumni Prime Ministers of Mauritius Vice Prime Ministers of Mauritius Ministers of Finance of Mauritius Defense ministers of Mauritius Interior ministers of Mauritius Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman