Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius

The deputy prime minister of Mauritius () is a senior member of the Cabinet of Mauritius. The deputy prime minister is the first in line to succeed the prime minister on a temporary basis in case the latter is out of the country, sick, resigns or dies suddenly. The office has existed before on an informal basis until its formal establishment under an amendment to the constitution in 1982. Harish Boodhoo became the first person to hold the office in July 1982.

The office is currently held by Arianne Navarre-Marie, who was appointed on 4 May 2026 and became the first female deputy prime minister.

Constitutional position and duties Under the Constitution of Mauritius, it provides for the establishment of the offices of prime minister and deputy prime minister, who are to be appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.

The deputy prime minister is the first person to hold the office of prime minister and head of government in case the latter is absent from Mauritius or is by reason of illness or of section 60(5) unable to perform the functions conferred on him by the Constitution. The president, by directions in writing, authorize the deputy prime minister or, in his absence, some other minister to perform those functions and that minister may perform those functions (acting prime minister) until his authority is revoked by the president. Before the establishment of the office in 1982, the constitution dictated that any minister appointed by the Governor-General is authorised to exercise the functions of the office of prime minister until the Governor-General revokes such authority.

Under convention, the deputy prime minister is always chosen from the second-most senior member of the government, typically the leader of second largest party under a coalition government. Although in the late 1980s, it became common for the prime minister to appoint honorary deputy prime ministers in addition to the existing holder of the constitutional deputy prime minister and holders of the office were usually senior members of the cabinet or another junior member party of the coalition government.

Title Constitutionally, the office is referred to as Deputy Prime Minister under the 1982 amendment that established the office. No formal legislation acknowledges or recognises an official French-translation for the office since English is the official language of law in Mauritius.

However, it was common to refer to the deputy prime minister in French-speaking media as vice-Premiére ministre and in English-speaking media as Vice Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister until the establishment of the separate office of Vice-Prime Minister in 2008. Hence, the deputy prime minister is referred nowadays in French-speaking media as Premiére ministre adjoint or simply referring to its English title whilst maintaining the French translation used before for the office of deputy prime minister instead to the Vice-Prime Minister.

Oath According to section 67 of the Constitution of Mauritius, ministers are required to subscribe to the oath of allegiance and an oath of office before assuming their respective offices. The current text as outlined in the third schedule of the Constitution takes in the following form:

List of deputy prime ministers Deputy prime ministers (constitutional) Portrait Name Term of office Concurrent portfolio(s) Party Prime minister Harish Boodhoo 1982 1983 PSM A. Jugnauth Sir Gaëtan Duval 1983 1987 PMSD 1987 1988 Sir Satcam Boolell 1988 1990 PTr Prem Nababsing 1990 1991 MMM 1991 1995 RMM Paul Bérenger 1995 1997 MMM N. Ramgoolam Kailash Purryag 1997 2000 PTr Paul Bérenger 2000 2003 MMM A. Jugnauth Pravind Jugnauth 2003 2005 MSM Bérenger Rashid Beebeejaun 2005 2010 PTr N. Ramgoolam 2010 2014 Xavier-Luc Duval 2014 2016 PMSD A. Jugnauth 2016 2017 ML 2017 2019 P. Jugnauth 2019 2020 Steven Obeegadoo 2020 2024 PM Paul Bérenger 2024 2026 MMM N. Ramgoolam Arianne Navarre-Marie 2026 Incumbent MMM

Deputy prime ministers (honorary) Portrait Name Term of office Concurrent portfolio(s) Party Prime minister Sir Abdool Razack Mohamed 1968 1976 CAM S. Ramgoolam Sir Satcam Boolell 1986 1988 PTr A. Jugnauth Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo 1986 1987 MSM 1987 1990 Beergoonath Ghurburrun 1988 1991 PTr Cassam Uteem 1990 1991 MMM Xavier-Luc Duval 2005 2008 PMSD N. Ramgoolam Rama Sithanen 2005 2008 PTr

Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius

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