Chan Santokhi | |
|---|---|
| चान संतोखी | |
.jpg) Official portrait, 2020 | |
| 9th President of Suriname | |
| In office 16 July 2020 – 16 July 2025 | |
| Vice President | Ronnie Brunswijk |
| Preceded by | Dési Bouterse |
| Succeeded by | Jennifer Geerlings-Simons |
| Leader of theProgressive Reform Party | |
| Assumed office 3 July 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Ramdien Sardjoe |
| Member of theNational Assembly | |
| Assumed office 16 July 2025 | |
| In office 12 August 2010 – 16 July 2020 | |
| Constituency | Wanica District |
| Minister of Justice and Police | |
| In office 1 September 2005 – 13 August 2010 | |
| President | Ronald Venetiaan |
| Secretary-General | Carla Barnett |
| Preceded by | Siegfried Gilds |
| Succeeded by | Lamuré Latour (ad interim) Martin Misiedjan |
| Chairman of theCaribbean Community | |
| In office 1 July 2022[1] – 31 December 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Johnny Briceño[1] |
| Succeeded by | Philip Davis |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Chandrikapersad Santokhi (1959-02-03)3 February 1959 (age 66) |
| Political party | Progressive Reform Party |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Nederlandse Politieacademie,Apeldoorn (BS) |
| Awards | Honorary Order of the Yellow Star (2010)[2] Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2023) |
| Nickname | Sheriff |
Chandrikapersad "Chan"Santokhi (Dutch:[tɕɑnˈdrikaːpɛrˌsɑtsɑnˈtɔki];Sarnami:चंद्रिकापेर्साद संतोखी,pronounced[cⁿd̪rikɑːpərəsɑːd̪əsⁿt̪oːkʰiː]; born 3 February 1959) is a Surinamese politician and former police officer who served as the ninthpresident of Suriname, from 2020 to 2025. After winning the2020 elections, Santokhi was the sole nominee for president of Suriname. On 13 July, Santokhi was elected president by acclamation in anuncontested election. He was inaugurated on 16 July.[3]
Chandrikapersad Santokhi was born on 3 February 1959, into anIndo-SurinameseHindu family inLelydorp, in districtSuriname (now known as districtWanica). He grew up in thecountryside as the youngest in a family of nine children. His father worked at the harbor ofParamaribo and his mother worked as a shop assistant in Lelydorp.[4]
After Santokhi obtained hisVWO diploma at the Algemene Middelbare School inParamaribo, he received ascholarship to study in theNetherlands. From 1978 till 1982, he studied at the Police Academy of the Netherlands inApeldoorn.[5] After completing his study he returned to Suriname in September 1982, to work for the police. Since the age of 23, Santokhi worked as a police inspector in Geyersvlijt and Wanica until he was appointed in 1989 as head of the national criminal investigation department. In 1991, he was appointedcommissioner of police.[6]
In September 2005, Santokhi was sworn in as Minister of Justice and Police on behalf of theProgressive Reform Party. His period in office was marked by a heavy crackdown on crime, in particulardrug trafficking, and a strict, no-nonsense enforcement of law and order. This earned him the nicknamesheriff, which he got fromDési Bouterse.[7]
As police commissioner, Santokhi led the investigation of theDecember murders that happened at the start of his ministership so that the December murders trial could finally commence. For the exclusive purpose of the December murders trial, he had a heavily secured courtroom built inDomburg, Wanica.[8]Because Santokhi was the driving force behind the trial, he became a much-discussed matter of the main suspect in that trial,Dési Bouterse. Bouterse said on 26 November 2007, four days before the commencement of the trial, that Santokhi wanted to "imprison and kill him".[9] Bouterse adduced that numerous previous attempts to "take him out" all failed and warned Santokhi to be cautious with his "intentions to eliminate Bouterse". On 29 November 2019, theCourt of Appeal reached averdict in theDecember murders trial,[10] and Bouterse had been sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment.[11]
On 10 September 2008, Santokhi sued Bouterse for insult,slander anddefamation, because Bouterse had alleged that Santokhi had ties to drug dealers and other criminals.[12] On 23 September 2008, the court ruled that the allegations were unproven, ordered Bouterse to publish arectification, and a penalty payment of SRD 100,000 for each day Bouterse failed to execute the sentence.[13] The same day, Bouterse placed a rectification inDe West where he admitted that the statements were untrue.[14]
In the2010 Surinamese general election, Santokhi received the highest number of votes after Bouterse, despite being placed relatively low on the party list of theProgressive Reform Party.[15] In July of that year, he was appointed presidential candidate on behalf of the ruling political allianceNew Front for Democracy and Development. Santokhi's opponent in the presidential elections was Bouterse. Since Bouterse (NDP) cooperated withRonnie Brunswijk (ABOP) andPaul Somohardjo (PL), his political alliance had a total of 36 seats, while the New Front only had fourteen.[16] Consequently, Bouterse was elected the eighthPresident of Suriname.[17]
Santokhi, who for fifteen years was the official representative of theInter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), was chosen on 6 December 2010, as president of this organization for one year. CICAD is an autonomous body of theOrganization of American States, that coordinates the drug policy of theWestern Hemisphere. In 2009, Santokhi was, also for one year, the vice-president of this organization.[18][19]
On 3 July 2011, Santokhi was elected as chairman of theVooruitstrevende Hervormings Partij (VHP) (Progressive Reform Party). The Progressive Reform Party, which was once anIndo-Surinamese party, has grown, since the appointment of Santokhi as chairman, into a multi-ethnic party which, according to current statistics, is the second-biggestpolitical party in Suriname.[20] With eight seats in the parliament, the VHP was the biggest opposition party until 2020.[21]
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On 26 May 2020, the preliminary results of the2020 Surinamese general election showed that theVHP was the largest party, and that Chan Santokhi was the most likely candidate to become the ninth President of Suriname.[22] On 30 May, Chan Santokhi announced his candidacy forPresident of Suriname.[23] On 29 June, the VHP nominated Chan Santokhi as their candidate for the Presidency.[24] On 7 July, the coalition nominated Chan Santokhi as President andRonnie Brunswijk asVice President.[25] No other candidates had been nominated on 8 July 2020, 15:00 (UTC−3), and on 13 July, Santokhi was elected as president by acclamation in anuncontested election.[26][27][28] He was inaugurated on 16 July, on theOnafhankelijkheidsplein inParamaribo in ceremony without the public due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[29][3] He took his oath reciting HinduSanskritshlokas and mantras in his oath ceremony.[30] Santokhi's inauguration was also blessed by several Christian religious leaders.[31][32]
In September 2021, Santokhi visited the Netherlands and became the first Surinamese president to do so since 2008, after diplomatic relations between the two countries had cooled down. Prime Minister of the NetherlandsMark Rutte referred to therapprochement as "historic".[33]
On 19 July 2020, Chan Santokhi married his long-term partner,Mellisa Seenacherry. The marriage took place in a private ceremony.[34] Mellisa is a lawyer by profession.[35] He also has two adult children (a daughter and a son) from a previous marriage.[36]
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Honorary Order of the Yellow Star,Grand Master
Media related toChan Santokhi at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Siegfried Gilds | Minister of Justice and Police 2005–2010 | Succeeded by Martin Misiedjan |
| Preceded by | President of Suriname 2020–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theProgressive Reform Party 2011–present | Incumbent |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of theCaribbean Community 2022 | Succeeded by |
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Current heads of state of South American countries | |
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| International | |
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| National | |
