Dharambeer Gokhool (born 25 October 1949) is a Mauritian politician who is the current President of Mauritius, serving since 6 December 2024. He is a member of the Labour Party and has previously served as Minister of Education and Minister of Industry, Science and Research.
Biography
Gokhool was born on 25 October 1949 in the village of Plaine des Roches, Mauritius.[1] He is from the Hindu caste of Ravived or Chamar in Mauritius.[2] He attended Roches Noires Government School, where he was considered an exceptional student, and then Mapou Government School.[1] In 1975, he went to study at Delhi University in India.[1] After his studies there, he returned to Mauritius and became a member of the staff at the University of Mauritius, serving several positions including lecturer, associate professor and dean of the faculty.[1]
Gokhool began his political career in 1976.[3] In 1980, he joined the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM) party. In 1982, he won election to the National Assembly as part of the MMM/Mauritius Socialist Party (PSM) alliance which won a landslide victory that year. After the MMM and PSM split, Gokhool stayed with the MMM and ran for re-election in 1983, but lost his bid for the Piton-Rivière-du-Rempart seat. In 1991, he returned to the legislature by winning a seat under the MMM/Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) alliance. However, during his term he defected to the Labour Party.[3]
Gokhool also served as the mayor of the town Vacoas-Phoenix from 1991 to 1993. He was a parliamentary private secretary from 1993 to 1994 and after joining the Labour Party, served as the party's administrative secretary in 2003, then was the secretary general from 2004 to 2005.[1] During the administration of Navin Ramgoolam, Gokhool served as Minister of Education from 2005 to 2008.[2][3] Following that, he became the Minister of Industry, Science and Research and held that role from 2008 to 2010.[1] After the 2014 elections, he was a candidate for vice president, although he was not chosen for the position.[2]
In 2024, Gokhool was a candidate for President of Mauritius and was unanimously elected by members of the National Assembly.[4]
