Gaëtan Duval occupied the Mauritian political scene with verve and extravagance for some thirty years. Flamboyant minister, populist tribune, Gaëtan left no one indifferent. He was either adored or hated, his enemies seemed to secretly admire his ardor and daring. He was made Commander of the Legion of Honor in 1973, and was elevated to the rank of Knight in 1981 by the Queen of England.
Several times Deputy Prime Minister and Minister, Lord Mayor of Port-Louis, Mayor of Curepipe, flamboyant barrister, Sir Gaëtan Duval was also a diplomat and a brilliant ambassador of tourism. Moreover, he made Mauritius known to the whole world. His reputation exceeded that of his native country and his name still resonates wherever he left his mark, whether in the far reaches of French-speaking Africa or in the great capitals of Europe.
Gaetan Duval was born in Rose-Hill on October 9, 1930 to a family of the Creole petty bourgeoisie, on Barkly Street, Rose-Hill. His father Charles was a civil servant and his mother Rosida was a housewife. At an early age, he lost his father but this did not prevent him from having an exemplary academic journey. He headed for Europe where he excelled in his studies both in London and Paris.
He entered Parliament on March 25, 1960 and decided to fight the popularity of the Labour Party by establishing a close relationship with his constituents. He championed the cause of the many victims of Cyclone Carol in 1960 and won the favor of ethnic minorities who feared for their future.
In the aftermath of independence, the economic situation was catastrophic and the country was divided by the recent ethnic clashes, Duval decided in the best interest of the country to form a coalition with the Labour Party to the detriment of his popularity. A coalition that was the basis for many developments, including tourism, the free trade zone and others.
But Gaëtan Duval was above all a great humanist, who loved to live life to the fullest and lived at 100 km/hour, but he never remained insensitive to human misery.
Gaëtan, Joe for many, left us on May 5, 1996. To pay tribute to him in the afternoon of 6th May 1996, the church of St. Jean was witness to a real human tide coming from the four corners of the country to the place where he will be buried. Never in Mauritian history has a crowd been so large, but it was certainly on the scale of the man who had gone.
