Center-right party founded as the Parti Mauricien by political leader Jules Koenig. After three subsequent name changes, the party settled on the Mauritian Social Democratic Party in 1967, and was led by attorney, ex foreign minister and former vice prime minister Gaëtan Duval. Duval led his party to support private enterprise and regulation-free economic development, and found a support base among the Franco-Mauritian minority, which earned Duval the moniker "King of the Creoles." Party has been led by Duval's son, the Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius Xavier-Luc Duval since 1996 [Parti Mauricien Social Démocrate (PMSD)].
