The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Mauritius

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This page contains a list of the greatest Mauritian Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 9 of which were born in Mauritius. This makes Mauritius the birth place of the 161st most number of Politicians behind Togo, and Barbados.

Top 9

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Mauritian Politicians of all time. This list of famous Mauritian Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity.

Photo of Ameenah Gurib

1. Ameenah Gurib (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 66.83, Ameenah Gurib is the most famous Mauritian Politician.  Her biography has been translated into 49 different languages on wikipedia.

Dr. Bibi Ameenah Firdaus Gurib-Fakim (Mauritian Creole pronunciation: [bibi amina fiːədos ɡəʁib fakim]) GCSK (born 17 October 1959) is a Mauritian politician and biodiversity scientist who served as the sixth president of Mauritius from 2015 to 2018. In December 2014, she was selected to be the presidential candidate of the Alliance Lepep. After Kailash Purryag resigned on 29 May 2015, both Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth and Leader of the Opposition Paul Berenger positively welcomed her nomination, which was unanimously approved in a vote in the National Assembly. Gurib-Fakim is the first woman elected as president of the country and is the third woman to have served as Head of State following Queen Elizabeth II and Monique Ohsan Bellepeau, who preceded her in this office and was her first Vice President. She served as a 2019 keynote speaker of Cambridge University's conference "Africa Together: Which Way Forward?" hosted by the African Society of Cambridge University.

Photo of Prithvirajsing Roopun

2. Prithvirajsing Roopun (b. 1959)

With an HPI of 62.35, Prithvirajsing Roopun is the 2nd most famous Mauritian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Prithvirajsing (Pradeep) Roopun GCSK (Mauritian Creole pronunciation: [pʁitviʁad͡ʒsiŋ ʁupʌn]; born 24 May 1959) is a Mauritian politician who served as the seventh president of Mauritius from 2019 to 2024.

Photo of Anerood Jugnauth

3. Anerood Jugnauth (1930 - 2021)

With an HPI of 62.08, Anerood Jugnauth is the 3rd most famous Mauritian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Sir Anerood Jugnauth (29 March 1930 – 3 June 2021) was a Mauritian statesman, politician and barrister who served both as president and prime minister of Mauritius. The central figure of Mauritian politics in the 1980s and early 1990s, he served six terms as prime minister from 1982 to 1995, 2000 to 2003 and 2014 to 2017. He was elected as president from 2003 to 2012. Jugnauth was a cabinet minister under the government of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam from 1965 to 1969. He then joined the Mauritian Militant Movement in 1970 and led the party in its first electoral campaign, being presented as its prime minister candidate in 1976. Jugnauth became Leader of the Opposition until 1982 when his alliance won all the seats in the assembly. After a major split in the party, Jugnauth formed his own political party called the Militant Socialist Movement in 1983. He led parties/alliances and won five general parliamentary elections in a row from 1976 to 1991. He and his party remained in power until 1995, having lost in a landslide. After forming an alliance with his former political ally, Paul Bérenger, Jugnauth returned to the premiership in 2000 having agreed with Bérenger to serve the first three years and then he would assume the presidency, which he did in 2003. Following his two terms as president, he became prime minister for the last time in 2014, having won the general election. Jugnauth resigned in January 2017 and was succeeded by his son Pravind Jugnauth as prime minister. Jugnauth was made Queen's Counsel in 1980 and was made a member of the Privy Council in 1983. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988 when Mauritius was still one of the Queen's realms.

Photo of Kailash Purryag

4. Kailash Purryag (1947 - 2025)

With an HPI of 61.15, Kailash Purryag is the 4th most famous Mauritian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Rajkeswur Purryag, GCSK (12 December 1947 – 21 June 2025), also known as Kailash Purryag, was a Mauritian politician who served as the fifth president of Mauritius from July 2012 to May 2015. He was elected president of Mauritius by the National Assembly and took office on 21 July 2012. He succeeded Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who spent nine years as president from 2003 until resigning in March 2012. Kailash Purryag previously served as Member of Parliament, Minister and Speaker of the National Assembly; he made his debut in the political arena at an early age in 1976.

Photo of Seewoosagur Ramgoolam

5. Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (1900 - 1985)

With an HPI of 60.00, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam is the 5th most famous Mauritian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam (18 September 1900 – 15 December 1985), often referred to as Chacha "Uncle" Ramgoolam or SSR, was a Mauritian politician and statesman. He served as the island's only chief minister, first prime minister, and fifth governor-general. He is widely recognized as the nation's founding father. After Guy Rozemont's death in 1956, Ramgoolam served as the leader of the Labour Party of Mauritius until his death in 1985 and led the country to independence in 1968. His son, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, has served as prime minister of Mauritius in the past and currently occupies the office.

Photo of Navin Ramgoolam

6. Navin Ramgoolam (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 58.44, Navin Ramgoolam is the 6th most famous Mauritian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

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.

Photo of Pravind Jugnauth

7. Pravind Jugnauth (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 51.37, Pravind Jugnauth is the 7th most famous Mauritian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Pravind Kumar Jugnauth (born 25 December 1961) is a Mauritian politician and former Prime Minister, succeeding, Aneerood Jugnauth, his father, who retired as leader of the majority in 2017. Following the victory of his, Alliance Morisien, coalition in the 2019 Mauritian General Elections, he remained in office, eventually losing the 2024 Mauritian general election. Jugnauth is the leader of the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) party. He has held a number of ministerial portfolios and also been Leader of the Opposition.

Photo of Paul Bérenger

8. Paul Bérenger (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 50.91, Paul Bérenger is the 8th most famous Mauritian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Paul Raymond Bérenger (born 26 March 1945) is a Mauritian politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Mauritius from 2003 to 2005. Bérenger currently serves as deputy prime minister since November 2024 and has previously held the office twice from 1995 to 1997 and 2000 to 2003. He has served as foreign minister and finance minister, both in two stints, in the governments of Anerood Jugnauth and Navin Ramgoolam. Bérenger, a Catholic Christian of Franco-Mauritian descent, has been the only Christian prime minister of Mauritius, or, more particularly, the only prime minister who has not belonged to the Jugnauth or Ramgoolam families. He has been Leader of the Opposition on several occasions – from 1983 to 1987, 1997 to 2000, 2005 to 2006, 2007 to 2013, October 2013 to September 2014 and from December 2014 to 2016 when he was replaced by Xavier-Luc Duval. With six stints in the office, Bérenger holds the longest-serving record in this constitutional position.

Photo of Veerasamy Ringadoo

9. Veerasamy Ringadoo (1920 - 2000)

With an HPI of 48.80, Veerasamy Ringadoo is the 9th most famous Mauritian Politician.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Sir Veerasamy Ringadoo, GCMG, GCSK, QC, (born Vīracāmi Riṅkāṭu; 20 October 1920 – 9 September 2000) was a Mauritian politician, minister, the sixth and last governor-general of Mauritius from 1986 to 1992, and then the first president of Mauritius from March to June 1992.

People

Pantheon has 9 people classified as Mauritian politicians born between 1900 and 1961. Of these 9, 5 (55.56%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Mauritian politicians include Ameenah Gurib, Prithvirajsing Roopun, and Navin Ramgoolam. The most famous deceased Mauritian politicians include Anerood Jugnauth, Kailash Purryag, and Seewoosagur Ramgoolam. As of April 2024, 9 new Mauritian politicians have been added to Pantheon including Ameenah Gurib, Prithvirajsing Roopun, and Anerood Jugnauth.

Living Mauritian Politicians

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Deceased Mauritian Politicians

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Newly Added Mauritian Politicians (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Politicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 3 most globally memorable Politicians since 1700.