Indian-origin Prime Minister (PM) of Mauritius Anerood Jugnauth resigned from his position on 23 January 2017. Anerood officially handed his resignation to Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib Fakim. He has been serving in his post since 2014.
He will be succeeded by his own son Pravind Jugnauth. Pravind is the leader of the main political party of Mauritius Militant Socialist Movement (MSM). He had already formed his ministerial cabinet after receiving an appointment letter from President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim.
Pravind also holds the post of Finance Minister of the country. His party has the majority of seats in the National Assembly since December 2014.
About Anerood Jugnauth
• Anerood had earlier served as the President of Mauritius and held various ministerial portfolios, including Minister of Rodrigues, Defence, Home Affairs and National Development Unit.
• Being a central figure of Mauritian politics in the 1980s and 1990s, he continuously held a constitutional office since 1976.
• He had visited India in November 2016 as Prime Minister and had expressed support for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move to demonetise higher value currency.
Background
Mauritius is an island of 1.3 million inhabitants. This island country regularly tops the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance, and has held a series of peaceful elections and smooth handovers of power since 1968 when it got independence from Britain. Mauritius is a model of political stability in Africa.
However, the handover of the post of PM from father to son has created political turbulence in the country.
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