
Hon. Sooroojdev PHOKEER, GCSK, GOSK
The Speakership is the most important office in the House. The first business of the House is to elect a Speaker when the Assembly first meets, after a general election. The Constitution provides that the Speaker may or may not be an elected Member of the House. The Government and the Opposition normally agree on a candidate.
The main function of the Speaker is to ensure that the Standing Orders and Rules of the National Assembly are complied with. The Speaker interprets and enforces the Standing Orders and for the purpose of interpretation, recourse is often had to Erskine May’s Parliamentary Practice, responds to Members’ points of order and give rulings when necessary. His ruling cannot be challenged, except on a substantive motion to that effect, and any criticism of his actions outside Parliament may amount to contempt of the National Assembly.
Hon. Sooroojdev PHOKEER, G.C.S.K, G.O.S.K
- Mr Phokeer is a Barrister-at-Law from the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, London and holds several Post Graduate Diplomas in Law, Diplomacy and Management.
- Mr Phokeer has been an Educator in Economics
- Mr Phokeer is bilingual, being fluent in English and French.
- Mr Phokeer joined politics in 1983. He was first elected as Chairman of the Black River District Council and became Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1991.
- In 1994, Mr Phokeer was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary. During that mandate, he also served as Member on the Public Accounts Committee.
- In 2001, Mr Phokeer was appointed Ambassador to Egypt with accreditation to several Arab countries.
- He came back in 2004 to assume responsibility as Special Adviser to the Ministry of Agro-Industry until 2005.
- In 2010, he was designated as Permanent Representative to the African Union.
- From 2015 to 2019, he served as Ambassador of Mauritius to the United States of America with concurrent accreditation to Brazil, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.
- From 2014 to 2019, Mr Phokeer served as High Commissioner of Mauritius in Canada with residence in the United States of America.
- During his tenure of office, Mr Phokeer also held the post of Chairperson of the Economic Development Commission of the African Diplomatic Corps. He also participated in several high level conferences at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and represented Mauritius for the AGOA Meetings, Forum and Summit.
- Mr Phokeer is well known for his contribution as a social worker whereby he has also been the Chairperson of the Mauritius Federation of Young Farmers.
- Mr Phokeer was elevated to the rank of Grand Officer of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (GOSK) in 2016 for his contribution to the development of the country.
- Hon. S. Phokeer, G.O.S.K was elected as Speaker of the Mauritius National Assembly in 2019.
- Hon. S. Phokeer, G.O.S.K, as from 05 December 2020: – Member of SADC Parliamentary Forum Executive Committee, Member SADC Parliamentary Forum Legal Sub-Committee.
- Hon. S. Phokeer, G.O.S.K, was elevated to the rank of Grand Commander of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (G.C.S.K) in 2021 for his contribution in the public service and in the political and social fields.
- Office of Speaker
- Roles of Speaker
- Courtesy Calls
- Ruling and Announcement
- Conference and Speech
Title | Name | Telephone No | Fax No | E-mail Address |
Speaker of the National Assembly | Honourable PHOKEER Sooroojdev, GCSK, GOSK | + 230 201 2306 | + 230 201 3232 | sphokeer@govmu.org |
Adviser to Speaker | DOWLUTTA Ram Ranjit (Mr) | + 230 201 1370 | - | - |
Office Management Executive | LENETTE Louis Hedley (Mr) | + 230 201 1940 | - | - |
Confidential Secretary | JEETUN Lakranee (Mrs) | + 230 201 2306,+ 230 201 1208,+ 230 201 1940 | - | ljeetun@govmu.org |
Management Support Officer | MUNGROO Girisha (Ms) | 201 1208 | - | - |
Head Office Auxiliary | BEEDASSY Kuldeep (Mr) | + 230 201 2470 | - | - |
Title | Name | Telephone No | Fax No | E-mail Address |
Deputy Speaker | Honourable NAZURALLY Mohammud Zahid | + 230 201 3474 | - | monazurally@govmu.org |
Confidential Secretary | COOPOOSAMY Tirruben Modli (Mr) | + 230 201 3474 | - | - |
Title | Name | Telephone No | Fax No | E-mail Address |
Chairperson, Public Accounts Committee | Honourable Muhammad Reza Cassam Uteem | - | - | muteem@govmu.org |
Confidential Secretary | DOOKHY Anita (Mrs) | - | - | - |
Title | Name | Telephone No | Fax No | E-mail Address |
Deputy Chairperson of Committees | Honourable NUCKCHEDDY Sanjit Kumar | - | - | snuckcheddy@govmu.org |
The Speakership is the most important office in the House.
The first business of the House is to elect a Speaker when the Assembly first meets, after a general election.
The Constitution provides that the Speaker may or may not be an elected Member of the House. The Government and the Opposition normally agree on a candidate.
However, if more than one candidate is proposed and seconded, the Assembly proceeds to elect the Speaker by secret ballot. The Speaker holds office for the duration of the life of Parliament, unless he is removed earlier on by the Assembly.
The Speaker is the principal office holder of the House and its spokesperson in relation to the other constituent part of Parliament - the President of the Republic. The Speaker symbolizes the authority of Parliament. The main function of the Speaker is to ensure that the Standing Orders and Rules of the National Assembly are complied with. The Speaker interprets and enforces the Standing Orders and for the purpose of interpretation, recourse is often had to Erskine May's Parliamentary Practice, responds to Members' points of order and give rulings when necessary. His ruling cannot be challenged, except on a substantive motion to that effect, and any criticism of his actions outside Parliament may amount to contempt of the National Assembly.
The Speaker decides on the admissibility of Questions to Ministers and on the choice of speakers during the debates and in so doing, he seeks to allocate the call evenly between the government and non-government Members.
The Speaker must maintain order during debate, which becomes sometimes unruly. The Speaker can call Members to order for the use of 'unparliamentary language', for misbehaviour, for constant interruptions, for irrelevance in debates and for engaging in private conversations. The Speaker may order a Member, whose conduct is grossly disorderly, to withdraw immediately from the House during the remainder of the day's sitting. If a Member persistently flouts the authority of the Chair or wilfully obstructs the business of the House, by abusing the Rules of the Assembly, the Speaker is empowered to 'name' the Member.
One of the most important qualities of a Speaker is impartiality. He must be above party politics. Once elected to the Chair, he owes his loyalty to the dignity of Parliament.
The Speaker has ultimate responsibility, together with the Office of the Clerk, for the administration of Parliament and the operation of the Parliament House. Furthermore, the parliamentary precincts of the National Assembly are under the control and management of the Office of the Speaker.
Name | Took Office | Left Office | |
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Sir Robert STANLEY - The First Speaker | 26.02.1957 | 21.03.1960 |
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Sir Harilal VAGHJEE - The First Mauritian Speaker | 22.03.1960 | 25.05.1979 |
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Sir Ramesh JEEWOOLALL | 05.06.1979 | 17.06.1982 |
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Mr Alan GANOO | 18.06.1982 | 05.09.1983 |
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Mr Ajay DABY | 06.09.1983 | 14.09.1987 |
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Mr Ajay DABY | 15.09.1987 | 04.12.1990 |
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Mr Iswardeo SEETARAM | 04.12.1990 | 11.01.1996 |
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Mr Alan GANOO | 12.01.1996 | 17.01.1996 |
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Sir Ramesh JEEWOOLALL | 23.01.1996 | 02.10.2000 |
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Mr Premnath RAMNAH, GCSK | 03.10.2000 | 27.04.2005 |
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Mr Rajkeswur PURRYAG, GCSK, GOSK | 12.07.2005 | 17.05.2010 |
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Mr Rajkeswur PURRYAG, GCSK, GOSK | 18.05.2010 | 23.07.2012 |
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Mr Abdool Razack PEEROO, SC, GOSK | 24.07.2012 | 08.11.2014 |
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Mrs Santi Bai HANOOMANJEE, GCSK | 22.12.2014 | 21.11.2019 |
- All
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
- All
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
Courtesy call
Farewell call Courtesy Call by His Excellency Mr António Costa Moura, Ambassador-Designate of Portugal on Honourable Sooroojdev Phokeer, GCSK, GOSK, Speaker of the National Assembly …
Courtesy call
Courtesy call Courtesy Call – SADCOPAC Peer Review Program and Training led by Hon. Dithapelo Lefoko Keorapetse, the Secretary General of the SADCOPAC and Chairperson …
Courtesy call
Courtesy call Courtesy Call by Mr Joseph Christian Léopold, the Chairperson and Ms Legentil, Clerk of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly (RRA) on Honourable Sooroojdev Phokeer, …
21 July 2023
13 July 2023
11 July 2023
27 June 2023
23 May 2023
09 May 2023
11 April 2023
04 April 2023
28 March 2023
29 November 2022
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Announcement on the mode of election of the Speaker following the 1996 Constitutional Amendment | DownloadPreview |
25 November 2022
03 November 2022
26 July 2022
05 July 2022
17 June 2022
16 June 2022
14 June 2022
24 May 2022
17 May 2022
13 May 2022
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Announcement - Hansard - Permanent nature of the records of the proceedings of the Assembly | DownloadPreview |
10 May 2022
19 April 2022
12 April 2022
05 April 2022
29 March 2022
10-12-2021
26-10-2021
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Ruling of Tuesday 26 October 2021 | DownloadPreview |
03-08-2021
27-07-2021
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Announcement of Tuesday 27 July 2021 | DownloadPreview |
23-07-2021
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Announcement of Friday 23 July 2021 | DownloadPreview |
20-07-2021
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Announcement of Tuesday 20 July 2021 | DownloadPreview |
13-07-2021
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Announcement of Tuesday 13 July 2021 | DownloadPreview |
09-07-2021
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Announcement - Utterance of derogatory words - Findings of the Cyber-crime Unit | DownloadPreview |
21-06-2021
19-06-2021
17-06-2021
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Ruling - Incident in the Lunch Room of the National Assembly | DownloadPreview |
18-05-2021
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PDF - ANNOUNCEMENT OF 18 MAY 2021 | DownloadPreview |
Video - ANNOUNCEMENT OF 18 MAY 2021 | Download |
04-05-2021
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Video - RULING 04 MAY 2021 | DownloadPreview |
PDF - RULING 04 MAY 2021 | DownloadPreview |
30-03-2021
08-12-2020
03-11-2020
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PDF - RULING PNQ | DownloadPreview |
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