Sir Anerood Jugnauth,[2] GCSK, PV, KCMG, PC, QC (29 March 1930 – 3 June 2021) was a Mauritian statesman, politician and barrister who served both as President and Prime Minister of Mauritius.

Anerood Jugnauth was born in Palma, Mauritius in a Bhojpuri speaking Hindu Indo-Mauritian family belonging to the Ahir broader Yadav community and was brought up there.

In 1964, he was one of the founders of All Mauritius Hindu Congress but continued to serve in Seewoosagur Ramgoolam's government as State Minister for Development from 1965 to 1966.

He resigned from office in April 1967, joined the Civil Service as Magistrate, and did not take part in the August 1967 General Elections.

This time he was not a candidate for the MMM but he proposed to Boodhoo dissolving the PSM to make a new stronger Party called the MSM (Militant Socialist Movement).

In March 1983, the government collapsed when the dominant faction within the MMM [Mouvement Militant Mauricien], led by Bérenger, split from Jugnauth's leadership and resigned from the cabinet.

In early April 1983, Jugnauth formed a new party, the Mouvement Socialiste Militant (MSM), which, in May, amalgamated with the PSM led by Harish Boodhoo.

Jugnauth's Alliance fought the election with his MSM (Militant Socialist Movement), Duval's MPSD (Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate), and both major factions of the MLP, the one led by Satcam Boolell and the RTM.

The MMM allied itself with two small parties, the Mouvement Travailliste Démocrat (RTD) and the Front des Travailleurs Socialiste (FTS).

During the election campaign, the ruling MSM/MLP/PMSD alliance was known as the Sun (Soleil) and the opposing union (composed of MMM/MTD/FTS) as the Heart (Coeur) after their respective emblems.

[citation needed] On 6 August 1991, Jugnauth dissolved the national assembly and announced that a general election would be held on 15 September, nearly a year early.

[23] When Jugnauth lost a vote of confidence over a language issue that required an amendment to the constitution, he dissolved parliament on 16 November 1995 and called a snap election for 20 December.

The Labour Party-Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) alliance captured all 60 of the directly elected seats on the island of Mauritius with only 63.7% of the poll, representing a mere 51.1% of the total electorate.

The MSM-RMM alliance obtained 19.3% of the votes cast or the support of 15.4% of the total electorate, but even under the best-loser system it found itself without a single seat in the National Assembly.

[citation needed] Jugnauth founded the MSM/MMM Alliance with Bérenger, leader of the MMM, on 14 August 2000, based on equal sharing of power.

He announced his departure in a 20-minute speech given to the members of parliament stating that he was leaving the office to make room for a new prime minister.

"Everything said and done about me, I am proud to go down in history as a no-nonsense, honest and dedicated prime minister having done my duty in good faith and without fear or favour.

I have understood our political adversaries and, taken at its most, all divergent views and attitudes have been mere manifestations to our democracy at its best", said Jugnauth in the speech before his departure.

His election to the presidency was largely approved by the entire population as it was considered to be the new era of Mauritian politics, allowing Paul Berenger to become prime minister who was the first person of a non-Hindu religion to become head of government.

After having a private meeting with Berenger, the leader of the opposition, Jugnauth made a statement that he might resign as president if the situation got any worse concerning the Medpoint scandal which involved his son, Pravind, and who was summoned and arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption on conflict of interest.

[31][32][33] Soon after his resignation from the Presidency in 2012, Berenger proposed a 'remake' of the MSM/MMM coalition, which was approved by both parties' structures (political bureaus and central committees).

When Ramgoolam dissolved parliament in end of November 2014, Jugnauth and the MSM conducted an alliance with the PMSD and Mouvement Liberateur (a dissident MMM party led by its former Deputy Leader, Ivan Collendaveloo).

The first one during his tenure was on 6 November 1988 at an Arya Samaj gathering in the suburb of Trèfles, Rose Hill by Satanand Sembhoo who drew a pistol to Prime Minister Jugnauth's head before being disarmed by bodyguards and onlookers.

[36] This was followed by a second attempt on 3 March 1989 at a temple in Ganga Talao when armed with a razor blade and disguised as a Hindu pilgrim, Iqbal Ghani assaulted Prime Minister Jugnauth.

This building was the subject of controversies and critics as the owner leased its floor space at high prices which were achieved at the peak of the local property market's cycle.

[43] In 1988, he fired Satcam Boolell, then leader of the Labour Party, due to political disagreements.In May 1992, a scandal erupted when the Bank of Mauritius issued a new Rs 20 note having the portrait of Sarojini Jugnauth.

[45] In 2007, Jugnauth threatened to have Mauritius leave the Commonwealth in protest at the UK's "barbarous" treatment of the people of the Chagos Islands.

The residents were forced out, and the government says they cannot return, but have been granted British citizenship and has donated around 40 million pounds to the people who numbered 2,000 at the time.

Many of the residents now live in poverty in Mauritius as that state has left them destitute, or as refugees in Britain where they have their housing and costs paid for, and receive financial aid to take the British to court.

He has also a commemorative golden Mauritian rupee coin issued by the Bank of Mauritius having his portrait on the obverse and a Dodo on the reverse.