Paul Bérenger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Bérenger in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 22 November 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Steven Obeegadoo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 17 September 2000 – 30 September 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Kailash Purryag | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Pravind Jugnauth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 30 December 1995 – 20 June 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President |
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| Prime Minister |
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| Preceded by | Kailash Purryag | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Kailash Purryag | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister of Mauritius | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 30 September 2003 – 5 July 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President |
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| Deputy | Pravind Jugnauth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Anerood Jugnauth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Navin Ramgoolam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Leader of the Mauritian Militant Movement | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 19 October 2013 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Alan Ganoo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1945-03-26)26 March 1945 (age 80) Curepipe, British Mauritius | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Party | Mauritian Militant Movement | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | Julie Paul-Emmanuel Joanna[2][3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | River Walk Community, Vacoas-Phoenix(Personal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Bangor University | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Raymond Bérenger (born 26 March 1945) is a Mauritian politician who served as the fourthprime minister ofMauritius from 2003 to 2005. Bérenger currently serves asdeputy prime minister since November 2024 and has previously held the office twice from 1995 to 1997 and 2000 to 2003.
He has served asforeign minister andfinance minister, both in two stints, in the governments ofAnerood Jugnauth andNavin Ramgoolam. Bérenger, a CatholicChristian ofFranco-Mauritian descent,[4] has been the only Christianprime minister of Mauritius, or, more particularly, the only prime minister who has not belonged to theJugnauth orRamgoolam families.
He has beenLeader 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 byXavier-Luc Duval. With six stints in the office, Bérenger holds the longest-serving record in this constitutional position.[5]
Bérenger was born to Mauritian parents whose ancestors arrived in Mauritius from France in the 1700s. Geneviève Bérenger, his mother, was the daughter of Auguste Esnouf, an engineer and author who used pen nameSavinien Mérédac to write novels and newspaper articles.[6] He completed his secondary schooling at theCollège du Saint-Esprit inQuatre Bornes. He travelled to the UK to study Philosophy and French, attended the Sorbonne in Paris and graduated from theBangor University with a BA Hons in philosophy andFrench.[7] He later worked as a Trade Unionist from 1970 to 1982 and was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the first time in December 1976.[8][9]
Bérenger founded theMauritian Militant Movement in 1969 along withDev Virahsawmy and the Jeerooburkhan brothers. This party has always received more than 40% of direct votes in general elections.
In 1971 Bérenger narrowly escaped a murder attempt, whilst his assistantAzor Adelaide died soon after being shot by rival political activists on Chasteauneuf Street inCurepipe.[10]
Bérenger was first elected inConstituency No. 18 (Belle Rose and Quatre Bornes) at the December 1976 elections. The remaining 2 seats were secured byIndependence Party (Labour-CAM) candidates James Burty David and Heeralall Bhugaloo.[11] Thegeneral elections of 1976 turned out to be a three-way contest between theIndependence Party (Labour-CAM coalition), theParti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD), and the MMM. There was ahung parliament, with 34 of the 70 seats in theNational Assembly going to the MMM, 28 seats to the Labour Party, and 8 seats to the PMSD. Ramgoolam remained in office, however, by forging a coalition with the PMSD for a bare majority.Anerood Jugnauth was appointed Leader of the Opposition.
At the June 1982 general election, Bérenger was elected inConstituency No. 18 (Belle Rose and Quatre Bornes) at the top of the list as a candidate of the MMM-PSM coalition. His running matesKailash Ruhee and Devanand Routho secured the remaining seats in that constituency.[12] The alliance won all 60 directly elected seats in the Legislative Assembly (except for two seats allocated toRodrigues Island). Jugnauth became prime minister andHarish Boodhoo was appointed deputy prime minister. Bérenger subsequently became the minister of finance.
In February 1983, fearing a coup d'état by Bérenger, Jugnauth sought for help from the Indian prime ministerIndira Gandhi in case such an event materialises. The military operation was codenamedOperation Lal Dora and Indian troops were to be deployed secretly to Mauritius.[13] While Jugnauth was on a trip to India during aNon-Aligned Movement summit, Bérenger arranged for theMauritian national anthem to be played on Independence Day in Creole and referred to it as the national language, rather than English.
Afterwards, Bérenger proposed a constitutional amendment removing the executive powers of the prime minister and entrusting them to thecabinet collectively. In this, he was supported byHarish Boodhoo, but Jugnauth strongly objected. Bérenger then sought a parliamentary motion ofno confidence to have Jugnauth replaced as prime minister byPrem Nababsing. Before the Legislative Assembly could vote on the matter, however, Jugnauth dissolved Parliament without any notice and called for new elections inAugust 1983. Jugnauth formed a new political party, theMilitant Socialist Movement, after the members of the MMM split in the aftermath of the falling out.
In the 1983 general election, Bérenger stood as candidate of the MMM inConstituency No. 18 (Belle Rose and Quatre Bornes). But this time he was not elected whilst his rivalsMichael Glover, Anil Gayan and Raj Virahsawmy of the MSM-Labour coalition were elected in that constituency.[14] However, Bérenger was narrowly returned as a member after the allocation of additional seats to the Assembly, which was mandated by the constitution.
In 1987, he was not re-elected for his seat, nor was he allocated a seat under the best-loser system. His rivals of the MSM-Labour coalition (Michael Glover, Balkrishn Gokulsing and Raj Virahsawmy) were elected to the Legislative Assembly.[15]
At the August 1991 general elections Bérenger was elected to the Legislative Assembly under the MSM-MMM coalition inConstituency No. 19 (Stanley and Rose Hill) behind his running mates Jayen Cuttaree and Jean Claude de L'Estrac.[16]
On 18 August 1993,Jugnauth dismissed Bérenger and all Members of the MMM from the government and formed a new majority with the other parties.[17]
In January 1995 Bérenger and Jean Claude de L'Estrac resigned from parliament, triggering by-elections in Constituency No.19. Bérenger was elected under the banner of the Labour-MMM coalition.[18]
As a candidate of the Labour-MMM coalition Bérenger was elected in Constituency No. 19 (Stanley and Rose Hill) at the December 1995 elections, ahead of his running matesSiddick Chady andJayen Cuttaree.[19] This alliance won the1995 elections with a 60-nil sweep of mainland Mauritian constituencies. Ramgoolam became prime minister with Bérenger as his deputy. On 20 June 1997, however, Ramgoolam dismissed Bérenger and formed a new government without the MMM.[17]
In 1999, the national opinion polls showed that Prime MinisterNavin Ramgoolam's Labour Party was the favorite to win theelections due in 2000. In an hour-long meeting organized by Bodhoo, Berenger made up his quarrel with Jugnauth and agreed to an electoral alliance and a power-sharing deal, should they win the election. The MSM and the MMM would each contest 30 of the 60 mainland seats. If successful, Jugnauth would serve as prime minister for three years; he would then resign, assume the (largely, but not entirely, ceremonial) office ofPresident of Mauritius and make way for Bérenger to succeed him as prime minister, with Jugnauth's sonPravind Jugnauth as his deputy.
The MSM/MMM alliance won 54 of the 60 seats. Jugnauth became prime minister again, appointing a 25-member Cabinet with Bérenger as deputy prime minister.
The power-sharing agreement was briefly in doubt when, in 2001, Bérenger faced a charge of aiding and abetting a murder suspect to escape arrest. Swaleha Joomun, a widow, was suing the deputy premier for facilitating the escape of Bissessur who was wanted in connection with a triple murder which occurred on 26 October 1996 inPort Louis. Joomun's husband was a victim of the murder.[20][21] Bérenger defended himself by saying that the reason he had helped Bissessur was because the latter wanted to reveal what he knew on theescadron de la mort (death squad). A second private prosecution was lodged against Bérenger by Raju Mohit (a member of the Movement Republicain) but in both cases, the Director of Public Prosecutions of Mauritius gave aNolle Prosequi.[22]
In 2003, Bérenger duly succeeded Jugnauth, who assumed the presidency, as agreed.
In 2003, Berenger took office as prime minister following the resignation of thenPrime MinisterJugnauth after serving as his deputy for three years. He led theMSM/MMM coalition government for a period of one year and nine months before his alliance lost the elections to theLabour Party in 2005. He was the first and only non-Hindu prime minister.
Paul Berenger remainedDeputy Prime Minister of Mauritius for three years and following the agreement,Anerood Jugnauth resigned in September 2003 after serving for three years.
Berenger subsequently tried to run on his own but lost the2005 elections to Ramgoolam's Labour Party.
Paul Berenger has been the leader of the opposition since 2007 after the MMM lost the general elections in 2005 to the Alliance Sociale coalition led by DrNavin Ramgoolam. The MMM also lost the subsequent elections in2010.
In January 2013, Berenger announced that he had tonsil cancer in a press conference, and let the population know of his plans for treatment in France and thatAlan Ganoo was to lead the MMM during his absence. Overall he appeared in good spirits and was confident of a return to mainstream politics. Different sources relayed by the lexpress.mu website also announced the entry into politics of his son,Emmanuel Bérenger.[23][24] Following his successful treatment for cancer, he returned to his position as Leader of the Opposition on 1 October 2013.
After his party ended its coalition with theMilitant Socialist Movement (MSM), Bérenger negotiated an alliance with the Labour Party on a power-sharing deal whereby each party would nominate 30 candidates and, if successful in the election, would provide an equal number of Cabinet Ministers.Navin Ramgoolam would remain prime minister until a new constitution could be adopted to enhance the powers of thePresident, before resigning to make place for Bérenger to succeed him. This alliance lost theDecember 2014 elections, however, and Sir Aneerood Jugnauth, who had come out of retirement to leadAlliance Lepep (Alliance of the People) was sworn in prime minister again, at the age of 84.
In October 2019 Berenger went into the general elections with MMM not contracting any alliance with anyone. The MSM of Pravind Jugnauth won an overwhelming victory, although short of a three-quarter majority. Arvind Boolell of the Labour Party was appointed leader of the opposition, as Navin Ramgoolam lost in his constituency. MMM managed to elect only nine MPs. Several petitions were lodged in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the election results.[25]
After forging another alliance with the Labour Party and several other parties under the banner ofAlliance du Changement, Bérenger became thedeputy prime minister for the third time following the landslide victory of the alliance in the2024 general election. He was offered the post of foreign minister under the new government, however, due to his advanced age, Bérenger declined taking up the post and instead holds the additional role ofminister without portfolio in the cabinet.[26]
Following the building fire at the head office of newspaperLe Mauricien on 11 June 1978, the MMM's propaganda paperLe Militant published a front-page article in which MMM activist Jean-Paul Sheik Hossen accused several members of the local intelligence police (Special Branch) to have planned the arson attack. Sheik Hossen made allegations against Special Branch's director Fulena, his deputy Sénèque, officers Jean-Paul Venkatachellum and Jean Ramiah. Security guard Yves Bedos supported Sheik Hossen's allegations. The Labour-PMSD-CAM government was alleged to be concerned byLe Mauricien's adoption of the new offset printing technology which would strengthen Bérenger's MMM. Under cover of parliamentary immunity Bérenger further reiterated the accusations against the intelligence police, which led to a lengthy investigation and court appearances. Bérenger eventually has to publicly apologise for having blindly believed in Sheik Hossen's allegations.[27][28][29][30]
In 1982, althoughAnerood Jugnauth was his superior in the hierarchy of the MMM and short-term government, Paul Bérenger snatched the microphone off Jugnauth at a public appearance. This incident infuriated the witnesses from within the party as it confirmed Bérenger's lack of respect for others as well as his unpredictable nature.[31]
The 2001Illovo Deal, which Bérenger labelled asmari deal (literally meaning "amazing deal") has been criticized to have favoured a small number of eliteFranco-Mauritian capitalists, to the detriment of the rest of the Mauritian population, especially the small planters. Bérenger formed part of the government at the time of the Illovo Deal, and his adviser and broker Jean-Mée Desvaux negotiated withAnerood Jugnauth at the latter's office in order for the eliteFranco-Mauritian conglomerate to pocket Rs 6 Billion whilst the State would only receive Rs 3 Billion of the deal involving the sale of more than 10,000 arpents of agricultural land. Prior to the Desvaux-Jugnauth meeting the Rs 6 Billion worth of land would have been acquired by the State (to be on sold and distributed to interested small planters).[32][33][34]
As Leader of the Opposition Paul Bérenger showed disrespect towards women when he publicly insultedNita Deerpalsing during a session of the National Assembly in August 2008.[35] In response to MPNita Deerpalsing's expression of support for then Attorney GeneralRama Valayden Bérenger commentedrode ene mari pou li marié do! (meaning "go find her a husband so she can finally get married"). Paul Bérenger's loyal acolyteRajesh Bhagwan defended Bérenger's insults on the basis that he had been upset by so much support for his opponentRama Valayden.[3][36]
During debates about the need for electoral reforms and the financing of political parties in the National Assembly, Prime MinisterPravind Jugnauth highlighted Bérenger's and the MMM's lack of experience in governing the country and their inability to make legal reforms. Bérenger's acolyteRajesh Bhagwan also joined in the exchange of verbal insults and Paul Bérenger's old nicknameRequin moustache orRekin Moustass (literally meaning "shark with a moustache") made headlines in the local press.[37][38]
Following an investigation by financier African Development Bank (ADB), Paul Bérenger was named as one of the recipients of bribes via local company PAD & Co. Ltd. on behalf of Danish firm Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC), which won the contract for the major upgrade of ailing St Louis diesel power station. The scandal became known asSt Louis gate.[39]
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Grand Commander of theOrder of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (2003){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Leaders of the opposition in Mauritius | ||
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