| Intro | President of Mauritius |
| Is | Politician |
| From | Mauritius |
| Type | Politics |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 12 December 1947, Mauritius |
| Age: | 72 years |
| Politics | Labour Party |
Rajkeswur Purryag, GCSK (born; 12 December 1947, also known as Kailash Purryag) GCSK, GOSK is a Mauritian politician who served as President of Mauritius from 2012 to May 2015. He was elected as the fifth President of Mauritius by the National Assembly and took office on 21 July 2012. He succeeded Sir Anerood Jugnauth, who spent nine years as President from 2003 until resigning in March 2012. Kailash Purryag previously served as Member of Parliament, Minister and Speaker of the National Assembly; he made his debut in the political arena at an early age in 1976.
Biography
Rajkeswur Purryag, better known as Kailash, was born on 12 December 1947 in Camp Fouquereaux, Mauritius. He is an Indo-Mauritian. He attended the Shree Shamboonath Government School and later the Mauritius College. He was sworn in as attorney-at-law in 1973. The same year he joined the Mauritian Labour Party. He became general secretary of the party in 1984 and president in 1995.
Career
Kailash Purryag has been a member of the Labour Party since 1973. He was a member of the Municipal Commission of the Municipal Council of Vacoas-Phoenix from 1974 to 1976. Purryag was elected member of the Legislative Assembly for the first time at the general election held on 20 December 1976. Purryag became Minister of Social Security from January 1980 to June 1982. In 1981, he was appointed as Leader of Delegation by the Government to negotiate adequate compensation for the Ilois Community in 1981 from the British Government. He was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly at the general election held on 21 August 1983 and became Minister of Health from January 1984 to January 1986. He served as Secretary General of the Labour Party from 1987 to 1991 and became President of the Party from March 1991 to March 1996. Purryag was elected Member of the National Assembly at the general election held on 20 December 1995. He became Minister of Economic Planning, Information & Telecommunications from December 1995 to July 1997. He was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Trade from July 1997 to September 2000. On 12 July 2005, he was elected Speaker of the National Assembly and was re-elected as Speaker on 18 May 2010, and remained in that post until 2012.
On Friday 20 July, the Clerk of the National Assembly of Mauritius informed the House that, immediately following his election as President of the Republic at to-day’s sitting, the Honourable Rajkeswur Purryag, GCSK, GOSK, has submitted his resignation as Speaker of the National Assembly.
President
As stated on the Section 28 (2) (a) of the Constitution of Mauritius, the President shall be elected by the Assembly on a motion made by the Prime Minister and supported by the votes of a majority of all the Members of the Assembly. On 20 July 2012, the National Assembly elected Rajkeswur Purryag as President of Mauritius. The motion was presented by Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam and seconded by Rashid Beebeejaun. Kailash Purryag became the fifth President of Mauritius and took office on 21 July 2012. His first official visit was at the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden, where he meditated at the monument of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the father of the nation.
Following the victory of the MSM/PSMD/ML alliance led by Sir Anerood Jugnauth in December 2014, he was expected to resign to make way for the alliance’s candidate, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, to assume the Presidency instead. In an official communique from the State House, he confirmed that he made an agreement with Jugnauth to remain as President up to May 2015 to ensure the hand over of power from the Ramgoolam administration to the new government in a climate of stability. He eventually resigned on 29 May 2015.
Honours
He is recipient of both highest order merits in Mauritius. He was elevated as Grand Officer of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (GOSK) on 12 March 1998 and Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (GCSK) on 12 March 2009. He received the Conferment of Honorary Freedom of the City of Port Louis on 23 August 2007.
On 9 January 2013, Purryag received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest honour conferred to overseas Indians at the 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
Personal life
Kailash Purryag was living at Camp Fouquereaux, Curepipe before he became president, he is the eldest of a family with nine children, he is married to Aneetah Purryag since 8 December 1973, he has a daughter and two grandchildren. During a state visit to India in January 2013, Purryag visited the village of his forefathers in Wajitpur, Patna. His great grandfather Lakshman Paryag sailed to Mauritius some 150 years ago to work as Indentured labourers.