President of Suriname
The President of the Republic of Suriname is, in accordance with the Constitution of 1987, the head of state and head of government of Suriname, and commander-in-chief of the Suriname National Army. The president also appoints a cabinet.
The current president is Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, a former chairwoman of the National Assembly. She is affiliated with the National Democratic Party. Simons was elected on 6 July 2025 as president by acclamation, and inaugurated on 16 July on the Onafhankelijkheidsplein in Paramaribo in a ceremony.
History
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.