A. A. PANOV Institute of Africa, Russian Academy of Sciences Keywords: Mauritius, women in politics, interfaith relations, elections On 5 June 2015, Africa received its fourth female President*. On this day, Amina Gharib-Fakim took the solemn oath of office of the President of the Republic of Mauritius and officially assumed office. According to the form of the state structure, Mauritius is a parliamentary-type republic. Real political power is concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister, who represents the parliamentary majority. The President, on the other hand, is appointed by the National Assembly on the proposal of the Prime Minister and is rather a representative figure. However, the island has already recognized this event as historical. For two weeks, the local press has been full of compliments to Mrs. President, who has suddenly become one of the most popular political figures in the country, despite the fact that she herself has never been involved in politics before and, by her own admission, agreed to the Prime Minister's offer precisely because she considers her position "non-political". Based on Mauritian sources and her own observations, the author of the article reveals the circumstances of her appointment to the presidential post. BIOGRAPHICAL PORTRAIT Amina Gharib was born in 1962 in the family of a school teacher Asenji Gharib from the village of Plaine-Magnin. Amina's family belongs to the Muslim community of Mauritius, so, as tradition dictates, she was born in her mother's native village of Firdos Garib - Suriname (south coast of the island). Amina's parents paid great attention to the education of their children, and, as Mrs. President herself now recalls, there was no other entertainment in Plaine-Magnin than the library, where she spent most of her free time.1 After graduating from the Maeburg Catholic Mission Girls ' Boarding school in 1979, Amina went to study in the UK, where she received a Bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the Uni ... Читать далее