President of Suriname

The office of president was created upon independence from the Netherlands in 1975. Until 1987, the presidency was mostly a ceremonial post, discharging most of the functions previously vested in the monarchy of the Netherlands. For all intents and purposes, real power was vested in the prime minister.

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 presidents were essentially army-installed puppets of army commander Dési Bouterse, who ruled as a de facto military dictator with few practical checks on his power.

Bouterse allowed multiparty elections in 1987, shortly after the current constitution was approved in a referendum. The presidency became an executive post, with duties and responsibilities similar to those of presidents in semi-presidential republics. On 24 December 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, in another coup d'état; police chief and acting army commander Ivan Graanoogst was appointed acting president. On 27 December 1990, Johannes Kraag became the president. The army returned power to civilians in 1991, and the president has been freely elected ever since.

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. She declares war and states of emergency with the ratification of the National Assembly. She concludes foreign treaties and agreements, again with the assent of the Assembly. She also exercises ceremonial duties such as conferring awards, receiving foreign diplomats, and granting pardons.

Political parties

More information Term of office, Political party ...

President[6]			Term of office			Political party	Vice president(s)
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Johan Ferrier (1910–2010)	25 November 1975	13 August 1980 [a]	4 years, 262 days	NPS	Position not established
2		Henk Chin A Sen (1934–1999)	15 August 1980[9]	4 February 1982 [b]	1 year, 173 days	PNR
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 [c]	2 years, 333 days	VHP	Henck Arron (NPS)
5		Johan Kraag (1913–1996)	29 December 1990	16 September 1991	261 days	NPS	Jules Wijdenbosch (NDP)
6		Ronald Venetiaan (1936–2025)	16 September 1991	15 September 1996	4 years, 365 days	NPS	Jules Ajodhia (VHP)
7		Jules Wijdenbosch (1941–2025)	15 September 1996	12 August 2000	3 years, 332 days	NDP	Pretaap Radhakishun (BVD)
(6)		Ronald Venetiaan (1936–2025)	12 August 2000	12 August 2010	10 years	NPS	Jules Ajodhia (VHP)
							Ramdien Sardjoe (VHP)
8		Dési Bouterse (1945–2024)	12 August 2010	16 July 2020	9 years, 339 days	NDP	Robert Ameerali (ABOP)
							Ashwin Adhin (NDP)
9		Chan Santokhi (1959–2026)	16 July 2020	16 July 2025	5 years	VHP	Ronnie Brunswijk (ABOP)
10		Jennifer Geerlings-Simons (born 1953)	16 July 2025	Incumbent	296 days (as of 8 May 2026)	NDP	Gregory Rusland (NPS)

Close

This is a graphical lifespan timeline of the presidents of Suriname. They are listed in order of first assuming office.

The following chart lists presidents by lifespan (living presidents on the green line), with the years outside of their tenure in beige. Presidents with an unknown birth date or death date are shown with only their tenure or their earlier or later life.

The following chart shows presidents by their age (living presidents in green), with the years of their tenure in blue. Presidents with an unknown birth or death date are excluded. The vertical black line at 30 years indicates the minimum age to be president.

• Politics of Suriname
• First Lady of Suriname
• List of colonial governors of Suriname
• Vice President of Suriname
• List of prime ministers of Suriname
• List of deputy prime ministers of Suriname