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.
DesiréDelano Bouterse is a Surinamese military officer,politician,and convicted 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.
The National Party of Suriname is a political party in Suriname,founded in 1946,and since June 2012 led by Gregory Rusland. For a long time it was the largest ruling party in the country,and it has been in government for a total of over 40 years. Of the 16 general elections held in Suriname,the party or a coalition it was a leading part of finished in first place 11 times. The party tends to be more popular among Afro-Surinamese and multiracial people.
The December murders were the murders on 7,8,and 9 December 1982,of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling Suriname. Thirteen of these men were arrested on December 7 between 2 am and 5 am while sleeping in their homes. The other two were Surendre Rambocus and Jiwansingh Sheombar who were already imprisoned for attempting a countercoup in March 1982. Soldiers of Dési Bouterse took them to Fort Zeelandia,where they were heard as "suspects in a trial" by Bouterse and other sergeants in a self-appointed court. After these "hearings" they were tortured and shot dead. The circumstances remain unclear. On 10 December 1982,Bouterse claimed on national television that all of the detainees had been shot dead "in an attempt to flee".
Ramdien Sardjoe is a Surinamese politician and served as Vice President of Suriname from 2005 to 2010. He is a member of the Progressive Reform Party (VHP).
Lodewijk 'Lou' Lichtveld was a Surinamese politician,playwright,poet and resistance fighter who wrote under the pseudonym "Albert Helman".
Ivan Christiaan Fernald is a Surinamese politician,who served as the Minister of Defence between 1 September 2005 and 2010,he was succeeded by LamuréLatour.
Pretaapnarian Shawh Radhecheran Radhakishun was a Surinamese politician. He was Prime Minister of Suriname from July 1986 to April 1987,and Vice President of Suriname from September 1996 to August 2000.
Jules Sedney was a Surinamese politician,and Prime Minister of Suriname from 20 November 1969 to 24 December 1973. In 1980,he became governor of the Central Bank of Suriname,but had to flee the country in 1983 after a dispute with Dési Bouterse. Sedney returned to Suriname in 1989.
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.
Johannes Samuel Petrus "Johan" Kraag was a Surinamese politician who served as the President of Suriname from 29 December 1990,until 16 September 1991.
James Ramlall,also known as Bhai,was a Surinamese poet.
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.
Eduard Johan "Eddy" Bruma was a Surinamese politician,lawyer and writer.
Hugo Pos was a Surinamese judge,writer,and poet.
Michaël Arnoldus Slory was a Surinamese poet. He mainly wrote poetry in Sranan Tongo,and is considered one of the most important poets in Sranan Tongo. He also published in Dutch,English and Spanish
Shrinivási was a Surinamese poet. Martinus Haridat Lutchman was born in Kwatta,Suriname and a teacher by profession. In 1949 he moved to Curaçao where his earliest poetry was published as Fernando in the magazine Caraïbisch Venster. Lutchman decided to change his pseudonym to Shrinivási which means noble resident of Suriname,and published in Tongoni (1958-1959),Soela (1962-1964) en Moetete (1968). His first publication of a collection of poetry was Anjali in 1963. His best known collections are Pratikshā (1968),Om de zon (1972),and Sangam (1992).
Harry Stanley Kensmil was a Surinamese civil servant,politician,and radio broadcaster. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of Suriname from 1987 to 1988,and Minister of Natural Resources and Energy from 1986 to 1988. He was part of the Supervisory Board of Staatsolie from 1984 to 1986 and 1988–2009,and was appointed as Secretary of the Board in 1997.
Abraham Arnold Lodewijk "Bram" Rutgers was a Dutch botanist and politician who served as Governor-General of Suriname from 1928 until 1933,the Council of State from 1936 until 1959,and served as its Vice-President from 1956 onwards. He was a member of the Anti-Revolutionary Party (ARP).
