Chandrikapersad "Chan" Santokhi (Dutch: [tɕɑnˈdrikaːpɛrˌsɑt sɑnˈtɔki]; Sarnami: चंद्रिकापेर्साद संतोखी, pronounced [cⁿd̪rikɑːpərəsɑːd̪ə sⁿt̪oːkʰiː]; born 3 February 1959) is a Surinamese politician and former police officer who is the 9th president of Suriname, since 2020.

[4] After Santokhi obtained his VWO diploma at the Algemene Middelbare School in Paramaribo, he received a scholarship to study in the Netherlands.

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.

His period in office was marked by a heavy crackdown on crime, in particular drug trafficking, and a strict, no-nonsense enforcement of law and order.

On 29 November 2019, the Court of Appeal reached a verdict in the December murders trial,[10] and Bouterse had been sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment.

[15] In July of that year, he was appointed as presidential candidate on behalf of the ruling political alliance New Front for Democracy and Development.

Since Bouterse (NDP) cooperated with Ronnie Brunswijk (ABOP) and Paul Somohardjo (PL), his political alliance had a total of 36 seats, while the New Front only had fourteen.

CICAD is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States, that coordinates the drug policy of the Western Hemisphere.

[18][19] On 3 July 2011, Santokhi was elected as chairman of the Vooruitstrevende Hervormings Partij (VHP) (Progressive Reform Party).

[21] On 26 May 2020, the preliminary results of the 2020 Surinamese general election showed that the VHP was the largest party, and that Chan Santokhi was the most likely candidate to become the ninth President of Suriname.