Royal College Curepipe. Photo: Mrorangina, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_College_Curepipe_image1.jpg)
London School of Economics and Political Science. Photo: The original uploader was Secretlondon at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LondonSchoolofEconomics_cford.jpg)
University of Mauritius. Photo: carrotmadman6 from Mauritius, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UOM_-_20.03.10_(4488982544).jpg)
Aligarh Muslim University. Photo: Syed Atif Nazir at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victoria_gate.jpg)
University of Staffordshire. Photo: Steven Birks, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Staffordshire_University,_College_Road,_Stoke_-_geograph.org.uk_-_332924.jpg)
Royal College Curepipe. Photo: Mrorangina, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_College_Curepipe_image1.jpg)
London School of Economics and Political Science. Photo: The original uploader was Secretlondon at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LondonSchoolofEconomics_cford.jpg)
University of Mauritius. Photo: carrotmadman6 from Mauritius, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UOM_-_20.03.10_(4488982544).jpg)
Aligarh Muslim University. Photo: Syed Atif Nazir at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victoria_gate.jpg)
University of Staffordshire. Photo: Steven Birks, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Staffordshire_University,_College_Road,_Stoke_-_geograph.org.uk_-_332924.jpg)
Navin
Navinchandra Ramgoolam was born on July 14, 1947, in Port Louis, Mauritius. He is the son of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the first prime minister of independent Mauritius, and Lady Sushill Ramgoolam.
His family background connected him with the political development of Mauritius during the transition from British colonial rule to independence in 1968 and the consolidation of the republic's parliamentary institutions. He married Veena Brizmohun in 1979.
Ramgoolam studied at Royal College Curepipe, one of Mauritius's established secondary schools, before beginning medical training at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin in 1968. He qualified as a doctor in 1975 and received Licentiates of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland.
After working in medicine, he studied law at the London School of Economics and Political Science from 1987 to 1990 and completed an LLB with honours. He then undertook vocational legal training at the Inns of Court School of Law and was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 1993. He later received honorary doctorates from the University of Mauritius and Aligarh Muslim University in 1998 and from Staffordshire University in 2010.
Ramgoolam began his professional life in medicine. From 1975 to 1976 he worked in hospitals in Ireland, including St Laurence's Hospital in Dublin and Monaghan County Hospital. He then served at Dr A. G. Jeetoo Hospital in Port Louis from 1976 to 1977.
From 1977 to 1981, he was a clinical assistant in cardiology at University College Hospital in London. He subsequently worked as a senior medical doctor at Amersham General Hospital in Buckinghamshire from 1981 to 1982 and as a medical doctor at the Yorkshire Clinic in West Yorkshire from 1982 to 1985. He returned to Mauritius and practised medicine before entering politics.
Ramgoolam became leader of the Mauritius Labour Party in 1991, was elected to the National Assembly, and served as leader of the opposition from 1991 to 1995. He became prime minister in December 1995 and remained in office until September 2000. He returned to opposition leadership from 2000 to 2005, then served again as prime minister from July 2005 to December 2014.
His second period as prime minister included responsibility for defence, home affairs, and external communications. After the Alliance du Changement won the November 2024 general election, he was appointed prime minister on November 12, 2024, and sworn into office on November 13. He also assumed ministerial responsibility for defence, home affairs and external communications, finance, and Rodrigues and the Outer Islands.
Ramgoolam led the Mauritius Labour Party from 1991 and became one of the country's longest-serving modern political leaders, holding the premiership during three separate periods.
As prime minister, Ramgoolam represented Mauritius in regional and international governmental affairs and promoted cooperation involving governance, development, law enforcement, and international relations.
Ramgoolam has led the Mauritius Labour Party since 1991. The party, founded in 1936, developed from the organized labour movement and has generally occupied a centre-left, social-democratic position in Mauritian politics.
His political career has included leadership of the opposition, ministerial office, and three periods as prime minister: 1995–2000, 2005–2014, and from November 2024. His governments operated within Mauritius's parliamentary system, a multiparty democratic framework shaped by coalition politics and the island state's post-independence development.
Ramgoolam has been associated with the Inner Temple, where he was called to the Bar in 1993 and later recognized as an Honorary Fellow and Overseas Bencher. He has also been a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.
In 1999 he served on the international advisory board of Harvard University's Center for International Development, an institution concerned with research and policy on economic and social development.
Ramgoolam is the son of Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Mauritius's first prime minister, and Lady Sushill Ramgoolam. He married Veena Brizmohun in 1979.
