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Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius
Senior member of the Cabinet of Mauritius From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The deputy prime minister of Mauritius (French: Premier ministre adjoint) 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.[2] Harish Boodhoo became the first person to hold the office in July 1982.
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The incumbent holder of the office is Paul Bérenger, who has held the office twice before, and was appointed by the president on 22 November 2024 following the general election held in 2024.[3]
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Constitutional position and duties
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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.[4]
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.[4] 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.[5]
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.[2] 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.
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List of deputy prime ministers
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Honorary deputy prime ministers
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See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Deputy prime ministers of Mauritius.
References
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