Sir Virgile Naz (1825-1901) was a

Mauritian 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 ...

lawyer, businessman and politician who was elected in

British Mauritius Mauritius was a Crown colony off the Southeast coast of Africa. Formerly part of the French colonial empire, British rule in Mauritius was established de facto with the Invasion of Isle de France in November 1810, and de jure by the subsequent T ...

to the Council of the Government of Mauritius, the predecessor of modern-day

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

or Parliament.

Early life

Virgile Naz was born in the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

to his mother Marie Joséphine Délande and father Jean Baptiste Naz in 1825. He grew up on the island of Mauritius and studied law.

Career

Sir Virgile Naz practiced as a lawyer. He was elected as President of the Chamber of Agriculture of Mauritius over 4 terms (1865-1865, 1869-1869, 1877-1877 and 1881-1881). Between 1882 and 1889 Sir Virgile Naz gathered support of the inhabitants of the village of Curepipe to create the ''Board des Commissaires de Curepipe'' with the goal of solving civil problems caused by rapid development of the new village which had been founded in 1878. When the status of the village of Curepipe was changed that of town Governor Sir Charles Lees named Sir Virgile Naz as the first President of the Board. The Board commissioned a network of 80 asphalted roads, built a bridge, drains, public gardens, nursery at ''Bois et Fôret'', new Carnegie Library, a slaughter house, ''Cité Pitot'' and Salaffa Shopping Centre.

Politics

Naz formed part of the pro-Hennessy Reform Party (also known as ''The Oligarchs'') of Sir

William Newton (Mauritius) Sir William Newton (1842-1915) was a Mauritian lawyer and politician who was elected in British Mauritius to the Council of the Government of Mauritius, the predecessor of modern-day National Assembly or Parliament. Early life William Newton was ...

. Their main rivals formed part of the anti-Hennessy party Democrats which was led by Gustave de Coriolis and Onésipho Beaugeard. Virgile Naz was a member of the Council of the Government of Mauritius for a number of years. Virgile Naz as well as Lois Raoul and William Newton are credited for being instrumental in ushering the radical reforms which became known as the Constitutional Reform of 1885. At the 1886 elections Naz was elected in the constituency of Souillac. It is following Sir Virgile Naz's recommendation that Governor

John Pope Hennessy Sir John Pope Hennessy (; 8 August 1834 – 7 October 1891), was an Irish and British politician and colonial administrator who served as the eighth Governor of Hong Kong and the fifteenth Governor of Mauritius. Early life John Pope Henness ...

nominated

Gnanadicarayen Arlanda Gnanadicarayen Arlanda, more commonly known as Louis Arlanda or Gnanadicarayen Louis Arlanda was a Mauritius, Mauritian politician and businessman. He was the first Indo-Mauritian to become a member of the ruling Council, which was an early form ...

as the first

Indo-Mauritian Indo-Mauritians are Mauritians who trace their ethnic ancestry to Indian subcontinent or other parts of South Asia. History During the administration of the French East India Company (until 1767) and subsequent French rule at least 12,000 work ...

to serve as member of the Legislative Council in 1886.

Recognition

Virgile Naz was decorated as Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1874 in recognition for his contributions to Mauritian society. In 1880 he was further honored with the title Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG). In the town of Rose Hill a street which connects Vandermeersch Street to Julius Nyerere Street is named after him. Another street in the capital city of Port Louis also bears his name, extending from Jules Koenig Street, through China Town to Sir Edgar Laurent Street in Plaine Verte.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naz, Virgile Government ministers of Mauritius Members of the National Assembly (Mauritius) Mauritian people of French descent Reform Party politicians 1825 births 1901 deaths