Former Prime Minister and President of the Republic of Mauritius, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, died at the age of 91 on Thursday night after a few days of hospitalization, official sources said in the Mauritian capital.
He was the father of the current Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth.
A central figure of Mauritian politics in the 1980s and 1990s, he was leader of the Opposition from 1976 to 1982. He served as Prime Minister from 1982 to 1995 and again from 2000 to 2003. He was then elected President of Mauritius and served as such from 2003 to 2012.
Following his party’s victory in the 2014 general elections, he was appointed again to serve his sixth term as Prime Minister by President Kailash Purryag on 14 December, 2014.
He ceded his post to his son, Pravind Jugnauth, before stepping down from active politics.
The Mauritian government has declared two days of national mourning on Friday and Saturday.
Sir Anerood’s funeral is scheduled for Saturday at the Pamplemousses botanical garden in the north of the island, where he will be cremated. (PANA/NAN)
