Domburg (Suriname), 1945

By Rodrigo Nobile

A career soldier, he served as a sports instructor in the Army and was one of the leaders of the National Military Council. He led a coup d’état and later co-founded the National Democratic Party (NDP). His name is often associated with the military regime that governed the country from 1980 until the early 1990s. During this period, there was a radicalization of guerrilla movements, which his government suppressed with heavy-handed tactics, resulting in numerous casualties. In 1985, he restructured the Constitution, granting extensive powers to the military.

In 1990, Bouterse stepped down from the army leadership and began developing the NDP, closely aligned with the Armed Forces. In the 1996 elections, through a coalition with a strong nationalist platform, he brought Jules Wijdenbosch to the presidency. After the return of democratic governance, Bouterse sought to regain power. Amid drug trafficking accusations, he obtained diplomatic immunity, thanks to Wijdenbosch. In June 1999, he was convicted in absentia by a Dutch court, which maintains an international arrest warrant against him, preventing him from leaving Suriname. He was elected president in 2010 and re-elected to the position in 2015.