President of Suriname 489602 209363269 2008-05-01T01:16:53Z 24.12.98.204 /* External links */ {| id="toc" style="float:right" | id="toc" | <timeline> ImageSize = width:199 height:350 PlotArea = left:50 right:125 bottom:10 top:10 AlignBars = early DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1975 till:2008 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:5 start:1975 Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar PlotData= bar:Leaders color:green width:15 mark:(line,yellow) align:left fontsize:S from:start till:1980 shift:($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]] </timeline> |- | Presidents of Suriname |} The '''President of the Republic of Suriname''' ([[Dutch language|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 of Suriname|National Assembly]] to a five-year mandate and are accountable to the Assembly. During his time in office, the President must forfeit any additional posts in politics or business. A candidate must be a Surinamese national (resident in the country for at least six years) who is at least 30 years of age. A candidate must win at least two-thirds of the votes in the Assembly to be elected. If no candidate wins two-thirds after three rounds, the vote then goes to the United People's Congress, composed of the Assembly and local government officials. In this case, a simple majority is required. [[Image:Ronald Venetiaan Feb05.jpeg|150px|left|thumb|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. {{nlil|Johan Ferrier}}, 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 1988, the titular Presidents were essentially army-installed puppets of Lt. Col. Bouterse, who ruled as a dictator with few practical checks on his power. Democracy was restored in 1988, but Bouterse staged another coup in [[1990]]. However, he was ousted after only one year. 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. ==Presidents of Suriname, 1975-present== <table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=2 width=80%> <tr bgcolor=cccccc> <th> No. <th> Name <th> Took office <th> Left office <th> Party <tr bgcolor=#FFFFDD> <td>1. <td>Dr. [[Johan Ferrier|Johan Henri Eliza Ferrier]] <td>[[25 November]] [[1975]] <td>[[13 August]] [[1980]] <td>[[non-partisan]] <tr bgcolor=#99FFCC> <td>2. <td>Dr. [[Hendrick Chin A Sen|Hendrick Rudolf Chin A Sen]] <td>[[15 August]] [[1980]] <td>[[4 February]] [[1982]] <td>[[Nationalist Republican Party|PNR]] <tr bgcolor=#FFFFDD> <td>3. <td>[[Ramdat Misier|Lachmipersad Frederick Ramdat Misier]] (acting) <td>[[8 February]] [[1982]] <td>[[25 January]] [[1988]] <td>[[non-partisan]] <tr bgcolor=#FFE8E8> <td>4. <td>[[Ramsewak Shankar]] <td>[[25 January]] [[1988]] <td>[[24 December]] [[1990]] <td>[[Progressive Reform Party (Suriname)|VHP]] <tr bgcolor=#DDEEFF> <td>5. <td>[[Johan Kraag|Johannes Samuel Petrus Kraag]] <td>[[29 December]] [[1990]] <td>[[16 September]] [[1991]] <td>[[National Party of Suriname|NPS]] <tr bgcolor=#DDEEFF> <td>6. <td>Dr. [[Ronald Venetiaan|Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan]] <td>[[16 September]] [[1991]] <td>[[15 September]] [[1996]] <td>[[National Party of Suriname|NPS]] <tr bgcolor=#99FFCC> <td>7. <td>Dr. [[Jules Wijdenbosch|Jules Albert Wijdenbosch]] <td>[[15 September]] [[1996]] <td>[[12 August]] [[2000]] <td>[[National Democratic Party (Suriname)|NDP]] <tr bgcolor=#DDEEFF> <td>8. <td>Dr. [[Ronald Venetiaan|Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan]] <td>[[12 August]] [[2000]] <td><I>incumbent</I> <td>[[National Party of Suriname|NPS]] <tr bgcolor="#E0E0E0"> <td colspan="5"> <B>Parties:</B> [[National Democratic Party (Suriname)|National Democratic Party]] (NDP), [[Nationalist Republican Party]] (PNR), [[National Party of Suriname]] (NPS), [[Progressive Reform Party (Suriname)|Progressive Reform Party]] (VHP) </table> ==External links== * {{nl icon}} [http://www.kabinet.sr.org Kabinet van de President van de Republiek Suriname] * {{en icon}} [http://pdba.georgetown.edu/Constitutions/Suriname/english.html Constitution of the Republic of Suriname, 1987] [[Category:Lists of presidents|Suriname]] [[Category:Presidents of Suriname| ]] [[ast:Llista de presidentes de Surinam]] [[de:Liste der Präsidenten von Suriname]] [[fr:Liste des présidents du Suriname]]e [[id:Daftar presiden Suriname]] [[it:Presidenti del Suriname]] [[nl:Lijst van presidenten van Suriname]] [[pl:Prezydenci Surinamu]] [[zh:苏里南总统]]