Prime Minister of Suriname | |
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Minister-president van Suriname | |
![]() Standard of the prime minister of Suriname (1975–1988) | |
Status | Head of government |
Member of | Cabinet of Suriname |
Seat | Paramaribo |
Appointer | Governor of Suriname (1949–1975) President of Suriname (1975–1988) |
Formation | 3 June 1949 |
First holder | Julius Caesar de Miranda |
Final holder | Jules Wijdenbosch |
Abolished | 26 January 1988 |
Succession | Vice President of Suriname |
Deputy | Deputy Prime Minister of Suriname |
This article lists the prime ministers of Suriname from 1949 to 1988. In 1988 the position of Prime Minister of Suriname was abolished and replaced by a vice president, who chairs the Council of Ministers ex officio.
Prime Minister | Term of office | Political party | Election | Head(s) of state | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||
Surinam (colony of the Dutch Empire ) | ||||||||
1 | ![]() | Julius Caesar de Miranda (1906–1956) | 3 June 1949 | 2 April 1951 | 1 year, 303 days | PSV | 1949 | Juliana |
– | ![]() | Jacques Drielsma (1886–1974) | 5 April 1951 | 4 June 1951 | 60 days | Independent | — | |
2 | ![]() | Jan Buiskool (1899–1960) | 4 June 1951 | 6 September 1952 | 1 year, 94 days | Independent | 1951 | |
3 | ![]() | Adriaan Alberga (1887–1952) | 6 September 1952 | 4 December 1952 | 89 days | Independent | — | |
4 | ![]() | Archibald Currie (1888–1986) | 4 December 1952 | 20 August 1954 | 2 years, 11 days | NPS | ||
20 August 1954 | 15 December 1954 | |||||||
Suriname (constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands ) | ||||||||
4 | ![]() | Archibald Currie (1888–1986) | 15 December 1954 | 16 April 1955 | 122 days | NPS | — | Juliana |
5 | ![]() | Johan Ferrier (1910–2010) | 16 April 1955 | 25 June 1958 | 3 years, 70 days | SDP | 1955 | |
6 | ![]() | Severinus Desiré Emanuels (1910–1981) | 25 June 1958 | 30 June 1963 | 5 years, 5 days | NPS | 1958 | |
7 | ![]() | Johan Adolf Pengel (1916–1970) | 30 June 1963 | 5 March 1969 | 5 years, 248 days | NPS | 1963 1967 | |
– | ![]() | Arthur Johan May (1903–1979) | 5 March 1969 | 20 November 1969 | 260 days | Independent | — | |
8 | ![]() | Jules Sedney (1922–2020) | 20 November 1969 | 24 December 1973 | 4 years, 34 days | PNP | 1969 | |
9 | ![]() | Henck Arron (1936–2000) | 24 December 1973 | 25 November 1975 | 1 year, 336 days | NPS | 1973 | |
Republic of Suriname | ||||||||
9 | ![]() | Henck Arron (1936–2000) | 25 November 1975 | 25 February 1980 [lower-alpha 1] | 4 years, 92 days | NPS | 1977 | Johan Ferrier (NPS) |
10 | ![]() | Henk Chin A Sen (1934–1999) | 15 March 1980 | 4 February 1982 [lower-alpha 2] | 1 year, 326 days | PNR | — | |
Himself [lower-alpha 3] | ||||||||
11 | ![]() | Henry Neijhorst (born 1940) | 31 March 1982 [3] | 9 December 1982 [lower-alpha 4] | 253 days | Independent | Fred Ramdat Misier (Independent) | |
12 | ![]() | Errol Alibux (born 1948) | 26 February 1983 | 8 January 1984 [lower-alpha 5] | 316 days | PALU | ||
13 | ![]() | Wim Udenhout (1937–2023) | 3 February 1984 | 17 July 1986 | 2 years, 164 days | Independent | ||
14 | ![]() | Pretaap Radhakishun (1934–2001) | 17 July 1986 | 7 April 1987 | 264 days | VHP [6] | ||
15 | ![]() | Jules Wijdenbosch (born 1941) | 7 April 1987 | 26 January 1988 | 294 days | VFB |
The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony utilizing slavery for sugar cultivation. With abolition in the late 19th century, planters sought labor from China, Madeira, India, and Indonesia, which was also colonized by the Dutch. Dutch is Suriname's official language. Owing to its diverse population, it has also developed a creole language, Sranan Tongo.
Desiré Delano Bouterse is a Surinamese military officer, politician, convicted murderer and drug trafficker who served as President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987, he was Suriname's de facto leader after conducting a military coup and establishing a period of military rule. In 1987, Bouterse founded the National Democratic Party (NDP). On 25 May 2010, Bouterse's political alliance, the Megacombinatie, which included the NDP, won the parliamentary elections, and on 19 July 2010, Bouterse was elected as President of Suriname with 36 of 50 parliament votes. He was inaugurated on 12 August 2010.
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The National Democratic Party is a political party in Suriname. It was founded on 4 July 1987 by Surinamese leader Dési Bouterse, and was one of the first parties in the country to have a stable base of support across different ethnic groups. In the 2015 general election the party scored 45.56% of the vote and 26 of 51 seats in parliament.
Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron was a Surinamese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Suriname after it gained independence in 1975. A member of the National Party of Suriname, he served from 24 December 1973 with the transition government, to 25 February 1980. He was overthrown in a coup d'état by the military, led by Dési Bouterse. Released in 1981 after charges of corruption were dropped, he returned to banking, his previous career. In 1987, Arron was elected as Vice President of Suriname and served until another coup in 1990 overthrew the government.
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The 1980 Surinamese coup d'état, usually referred to as the Sergeants' Coup, was a military coup in Suriname which occurred on 25 February 1980, when a group of 16 sergeants of the Surinamese Armed Forces (SKM) led by Dési Bouterse overthrew the government of Prime Minister Henck Arron with a violent coup d'état. This marked the beginning of the military dictatorship that dominated the country from 1980 until 1991. The dictatorship featured the presence of an evening curfew, the lack of freedom of press, a ban on political parties, a restriction on the freedom of assembly, a high level of government corruption and the summary executions of political opponents.
The Honorary Order of the Yellow Star is the highest state decoration of the Republic of Suriname. The Order was instituted in 1975 at the independence of Suriname and replaced the Dutch Order of the Netherlands Lion. It is awarded to individuals for their meritorious service to the Surinamese people or nation. Foreigners are also eligible to receive the order. The president of Suriname is the Grand Master of the order.
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Chandrikapersad "Chan" Santokhi is a Surinamese politician and former police officer who is the 9th president of Suriname, since 2020. After winning the 2020 elections, Santokhi was the sole nominee for president of Suriname. On 13 July, Santokhi was elected president by acclamation in an uncontested election. He was inaugurated on 16 July.
Netherlands–Suriname relations refers to the current and historical relations between the Netherlands and Suriname. Both nations share historic ties and a common language (Dutch) and are members of the Dutch Language Union.
Willem Alfred Udenhout was a Surinamese politician. He served as the military-installed Prime Minister of Suriname from February 1984 to July 1986. He had previously been a teacher and, for a time, a Black Power activist. As an academic he had a PhD in English literature from Leiden University. He later served as an ambassador to the United States. He did not favor investigating the military's murder of civilians or of Maroon people. He was also the Chairman of the Suriname Conservation Foundation.
Gregory Allan Rusland is a Surinamese politician. He served as Minister for Natural Resources between 2005 and 2010. In 2012 he became leader of the National Party of Suriname. Rusland has been a member of the National Assembly since 2015.
The 1990 Surinamese coup d'état, usually referred to as the Telephone Coup, was a military coup in Suriname on 24 December 1990. The coup was carried out by the acting commander-in-chief of the Suriname National Army (SNL), Police Chief Ivan Graanoogst. As a result of the coup, President Ramsewak Shankar was dismissed from power, and parliament and government were disbanded.
The Tucayana Amazonas was an Amerindian guerrilla commando group in Suriname.
Henry Roëll Neijhorst is a Surinamese economist who served as Prime Minister of Suriname from 31 March to 9 December 1982. He also served as Minister of Finance from 15 March to 15 August 1980.