President of Suriname
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DateFormat = yyyyPeriod = from:1975 till:2006TimeAxis = orientation:verticalScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1975
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bar:Leaders color:green width:15 mark:(line,yellow) align:left fontsize:S
from:start till:1980 shift:($dx,-4) text:Johan Ferrier from:1980 till:1982 shift:($dx,-3) text:Henck Chin A Sen from:1982 till:1988 shift:($dx,-3) text:Ramdat Misier from:1988 till:1990 shift:($dx,-4) text:Ramsewak Shankar from:1990 till:1991 shift:($dx,-4) fontsize:XS text:Johan Kraag from:1991 till:1996 shift:($dx,-3) text:Ronald Venetiaan from:1996 till:2000 shift:($dx,-4) text:Jules Wijdenbosch from:2000 till:end shift:($dx,-3) text:Ronald Venetiaan
| | Presidents of Suriname |
The
President of the Republic of Suriname (
Dutch:
President van de Republiek Suriname) is, in accordance with the Constitution of 1987, the
head of state,
head of government, and
commander-in-chief of
Suriname. The President and a Vice President are elected by the
National Assembly to a five-year mandate and are accountable to the Assembly. A candidate must be a Surinamese national (resident in the country for at least six years) who is at least 30 years of age. During his time in office, he must forfeit any additional posts in politics or business.
 |
Ronald Venetiaan |
The President is vested with extensive functional powers. The President names and dismisses ministers, signs bills, and names and dismisses diplomatic staff. He declares war and states of emergency with the ratification of the National Assembly. He concludes foreign treaties and agreements, again with the assent of the Assembly. He also exercises ceremonial duties such as conferring awards, receiving foreign diplomats, and granting pardons.
The office of President was created upon independence from the
Netherlands in 1975. Until 1987, the role was largely ceremonial. The first officeholder was Dr. , a schoolteacher and veteran politician who had served as
governor since 1968. He was forced out of office in August 1980, several months after a coup d'état by army commander Lt. Col.
Dési Bouterse transferred most political authority to the military leadership. From then until 1991, the titular Presidents were essentially army-installed puppets of Lt. Col. Bouterse, who ruled as a dictator with few practical checks on his power.
The current President is H.E. Dr.
Ronald Venetiaan, a mathematician and member of the
Afro-Surinamese and
Roman Catholic communities. He is affiliated with the
National Party of Suriname, a centrist party. Venetiaan was elected to a record third term (second consecutive) in 2005.
*
Kabinet van de President van de Republiek Suriname*
Constitution of the Republic of Suriname, 1987
