Anerood Jugnauth

Infobox President
honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable
name = Sir Anerood Jugnauth
honorific-suffix = KCMG QC


caption = Anerood Jugnauth with U.S. President George W. Bush
order = President of Mauritius
primeminister = Paul Bérenger
Navin Ramgoolam
vicepresident = Raouf Bundhun
Angidi Chettiar
term_start = 07 October 2003
term_end =
predecessor = Karl Offmann
successor =
order2 = Prime Minister of Mauritius
president2 = Veerasamy Ringadoo
Cassam Uteem
deputy2 =
term_start2 = 16 June 1982
term_end2 = 22 December 1995
predecessor2 = Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
successor2 = Navinchandra Ramgoolam
president3 = Cassam Uteem
Angidi Chettiar
Ariranga Pillay
Karl Offmann
deputy3 =
term_start3 = 17 September 2000
term_end3 = 30 September 2003
predecessor3 = Navinchandra Ramgoolam
successor3 = Paul Bérenger
birth_date = birth date and age|1930|03|29|df=y
birth_place =
spouse = Sarojini Jugnauth
party = MSM
religion = HinduismSir Anerood Jugnauth, KCMG, QC (born March 29, 1930) is the President of Mauritius. He served as Prime Minister from 1982 to 1995, when he was voted out of office. As leader of the Socialist Militant Party, he again became Prime Minister after September 2000 election. His alliance partner, Paul Bérenger of the Militant Movement, succeeded him as Prime Minister in 2003, after serving as Jugnauth's deputy for three years. Jugnauth was then elected as President, a ceremonial position; he has held that office since 2003.

Sir Anerood trained and worked in law and took an active role in the 1960s negotiations for independence. Sir Anerood Jugnauth was called to the Bar in London in 1954. His political career began with his being elected in the Constituency of Riviere Du Rempart in 1963. He was the President of the Palma Village council in 1964. In 1965, he joined the All Mauritius Hindu Congress. He also attended the London Constitutional Conference on Mauritius in 1965, and was State Minister of Development in the Government of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam in 1965-66 and the Minister of Labour from 1966 to 1967. Being the Leader of Opposition from December 1976 to June 1982, he joined the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) in 1980.

He founded the Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) party in 1983. He was elected as the Prime Minister in 1982 for the first time, again in 1983, and for the third time from 1991 to 1995. His years as Prime Minister were marked with social tension, due to continuous hostility of the then-government towards the Muslim communityFact|date=March 2007. He was promoted to the rank of Knight by Queen Elizabeth II in 1980. He is also honoured with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards for his continued support for India’s causes and concerns, and for strengthening India’s relationship with Mauritius. He has been a torch-bearer of democratic aspirations in Mauritius. He expressed his country's readiness to establish strong economic ties, particularly in creating technology-based projects with high economic feasibility. Jugnauth is credited with the legacy of Mauritius' "economic miracle" of the 1980s - a set of liberal policies such as the creation of a duty-free trade zone and establishing Mauritius as a leader in textiles production - which allowed the island to develop into an economic powerhouse in the region. His time in office was also marked by controversy and social tensions between various ethnic groups.Fact|date=September 2008

In 2003, he handed the leadership of his party to his son Pravind Jugnauth. He announced that "he had reached the end of this road." Anerood Jugnauth's announcement marked the end of a colourful chapter in Mauritian politics. In an island dominated by political families, the current Prime Minister and former leader of the opposition Dr Navin Ramgoolam is the son of the first post-colonial Prime Minister Sir Seewoosagar Ramgoolam.

Jugnauth was elected to the ceremonial post of President of Mauritius in 2003. After five years in office, he was re-elected by the National Assembly in a unanimous vote on September 19, 2008, supported by both the government and the opposition. [ [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gUK4foUXZl1YqEDr1jvKNgHCKkaA "Jugnauth re-elected Mauritius president"] , AFP, September 20, 2008.]

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