Gaëtan Duval, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetGaëtan Duval
Mauritian politician (1930-1996)
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Beau Bassin-Rose Hill, Plaines Wilhems District, Mauritius
About Gaëtan Duval
- Sir Charles Gaëtan Duval QC Kt (9 October 1930 – 5 May 1996) was a barrister, statesman and politician from Mauritius who was the leader of the Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD).
- A disciple of Jules Koenig, the first leader of the PMSD, he was in favour of the integration of Mauritius into the United Kingdom and led the conservative movement against independence, which supported mostly by white oligarchs and most of the creole community, who feared Hindu hegemony in an independent Mauritius.
- The 1967 general elections, which were dominated by the independence question, were considered as one of the most violent and communal elections in Mauritian history.
- His controversial slogan malbar nous pa oule (a Creole term meaning "We don't want Hindus") was heavily criticised.
- However, his popularity among the creole community led to him becoming known as Le Roi Creole (meaning King of the Creoles in creole language). After losing the elections, Duval subsequently became Leader of the Opposition, as Mauritius became independent in 1968.
- He held the position on three separate occasions, and was also Mayor of Port-Louis during the same period, before becoming a cabinet minister in Ramgoolam's government.
- He later served in the cabinet of Anerood Jugnauth as Deputy Prime Minister between 1983 and 1988.
- He died in 1996 whilst still a Member of Parliament for Curepipe and Midlands.A central political figure in Mauritius in the 1970s, Duval's party lost much of its electorate in the 1980s to the radical leftist Mauritian Militant Movement party.
- He nevertheless remained an enigmatic political personality even his party had less than five MPs for the period between 1982 and 1996.
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