President of Suriname

The office of president was created upon independence from the Netherlands in 1975. Until 1987, the role was largely ceremonial. The first officeholder was Johan Ferrier, a schoolteacher and veteran politician who had served as governor since 1968. He resigned as president in August 1980, several months after a coup d'état. 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, the year after the adoption of the constitution, in which the duties and responsibilities of the president were included. On December 24, 1990, two days after Bouterse's resignation as army commander, the army called president Ramsewak Shankar to inform him that he and his cabinet were removed from office. Police Chief and Acting Commander of the army, Ivan Graanoogst was appointed Acting President. On December 27, 1990, Johannes Kraag became the president. Since 1991, the president is elected democratically.

The president and a vice president are elected by no less than a two-thirds supermajority of members in the National Assembly to a five-year mandate and are accountable to the Assembly. During their 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.

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.

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President			Term of office			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Johan Ferrier (1910–2010)	25 November 1975	13 August 1980[lower-alpha 1]	4 years, 262 days	National Party of Suriname
2		Henk Chin A Sen (1934–1999)	15 August 1980	4 February 1982[lower-alpha 2]	1 year, 173 days	Nationalist Republican Party
3		Fred Ramdat Misier (1926–2004)	8 February 1982	25 January 1988	5 years, 351 days	Independent
4		Ramsewak Shankar (born 1937)	25 January 1988	24 December 1990[lower-alpha 3]	2 years, 333 days	Progressive Reform Party
5		Johan Kraag (1913–1996)	29 December 1990	16 September 1991	261 days	National Party of Suriname
6		Ronald Venetiaan (born 1937)	16 September 1991	15 September 1996	4 years, 365 days	National Party of Suriname
7		Jules Wijdenbosch (born 1942)	15 September 1996	12 August 2000	3 years, 332 days	National Democratic Party
(6)		Ronald Venetiaan (born 1937)	12 August 2000	12 August 2010	10 years	National Party of Suriname
8		Dési Bouterse (born 1945)	12 August 2010	Incumbent	9 years, 315 days (as of 22 June 2020)	National Democratic Party

• Suriname
  • Politics of Suriname
  • List of colonial governors of Suriname
  • Vice President of Suriname
  • List of prime ministers of Suriname
• Lists of Incumbents

• (in Dutch) Kabinet van de President van de Republiek Suriname
• (in English) Constitution of the Republic of Suriname, 1987