Henry Neijhorst
Henry Roëll Neijhorst is a Surinamese economist who served as Prime Minister of Suriname from 31 March to 9 December 1982. He also served as Minister of Finance from 15 March to 15 August 1980.
Education and early career
Neijhorst studied economics at the University of Amsterdam and the School of Economics in Rotterdam, eventually receiving his drs. in economics from the Catholic University of Tilburg in 1972. During his studies, he was active in the Nationalist Student Movement, an organisation of Surinamese students in the Netherlands.Cabinet
When Henk Chin A Sen became Prime Minister after the 1980 Sergeants' Coup, he chose Neijhorst as his Finance Minister. Neijhorst at the time had been serving as the economic director of the National Development Bank. After the serving Minister of Economic Planning was dismissed in June, Neijhorst took over that position as well. However, when President Ferrier was forced by the military to resign in August, Neijhorst voluntarily resigned from the Cabinet soon after. He was the basis for a fictional Finance Minister in 's 1981 novel Afrekening in Paramaribo.After his resignation, Neijhorst became a member of the Committee for Netherlands-Suriname Cooperation. He also joined the Surinaams Postspaarbank as a director.
In March 1982, Neijhorst was jointly appointed as Prime Minister and acting Finance Minister to succeed Chin A Sen. He was part of the four-member Policy Centre, a governing body whose other members were Foreign Minister Harvey Naarendorp, [National National Military Council (Suriname)|Military Council (Suriname)|Military Council] Chairman Desi Bouterse, and Military Council Vice-Chairman Roy Horb. In theory, the Policy Centre would provide a buffer between the National Military Council and the civilian Cabinet of Ministers. However, Neijhorst and the rest of the Cabinet chose to resign after the National Military Council unilaterally decided to eliminate opposition leaders.
In 1991, Neijhorst became an economic advisor to the Venetiaan government.