Desiré Delano Bouterse[1] (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdeːsi ˈbʌutərsə]; 13 October 1945 – 23 December 2024[2][3]) was a Surinamese military officer, politician, convicted murderer, and drug trafficker[4][5] who served as the President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020.

[7] Bouterse was a controversial figure, held responsible by some for numerous human rights violations committed during his military rule in the 1980s.

[9] On 16 July 1999, Bouterse was sentenced in absentia in the Netherlands to 11 years' imprisonment after being convicted of trafficking 474 kg (1,045 lb) of cocaine.

He attended St. Jozefschool (a boarding school) and later the Middelbare Handelsschool (roughly equivalent to junior secondary general education), which he did not finish.

However, "the political plans were vague, no ideological discussions had taken place in preparation for the coup," notes historian Rosemarijn Hoefte.

The military dictatorship imposed an evening curfew, and curtailed freedom of press (only one newspaper, de Ware Tijd, was allowed to continue publishing, but was subject to heavy censorship).

He established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union, Cuba and North Korea, but his regime did not show any Communist orientation.

In 1983, in the wake of the U.S. invasion of Grenada, Suriname drew closer to Washington and expelled Cuban diplomats, perhaps for fear of U.S.

[28][29] The parliamentary voting was to be held on 23 March, the same day Ruben Rozendaal testified in court that Bouterse personally killed two of the fifteen men: union leader Cyrill Daal and military member Soerindre Rambocus.

The political parties Nieuw Suriname and BEP, both members of Bouterse's coalition, left the room when the voting started because they "did not believe that they should support a law which is being opposed by a large part of the Surinamese community.

[40] After passage of the amnesty law, the Netherlands immediately stopped the 20 million euro aid set aside for Suriname.

Matters came to a head when Bouterse was detained at Schiphol Airport while returning to Suriname on a personal trip to Ghana and Switzerland.

Angered that Shankar, who happened to be on the same flight to Amsterdam, didn't protest, Bouterse resigned as army commander.

Bouterse is believed by law enforcement officials to have been the leader of the so-called Suri kartel, which is held responsible for the trafficking and smuggling of large amounts of cocaine from Suriname and Brazil into Europe (especially into the Netherlands) in the 1980s and 90s.

According to the United Nations Convention against illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, since Bouterse was convicted before his election as head of state in 2010, he has no immunity under international law.

He was prosecuted and in March 2015, he was sentenced to a 16-year prison term on convictions of drug smuggling and trying to help Hezbollah set up a base in Suriname.

Bouterse was arrested after an elaborate international sting in which he was recorded meeting in Greece and Panama with DEA operatives posing as Hezbollah and Mexican drug traffickers.

During his presidency Dési Bouterse introduced universal health care, free school meals, a minimum wage and a national pension scheme.

[24] His cabinet consisted of the following members: The first minister of Spatial Planning Martinus Sastroredjo (KTPI) had been relieved of his duties at the end of 2010 due to his life partner asking for a piece of land with the help of a ministry official.

They included Paul Abena (Sport- & Youth Affairs), Martin Misiedjan (Justice & Police), Celsius Waterberg (Public Health), Linus Diko (Regional Development), and Simon Martosatiman.

Abigail Lie A Kwie, a loyalist of Pertjajah Luhur chairman Paul Somohardjo, started as the deputy minister of Public Works & Traffic, but was moved in October 2012 to the ministry of Agriculture.

The president's four top advisors were Jules Wijdenbosch, who handles the country's administrative and constitutional affairs; Errol Alibux, who advises the president about foreign affairs and international laws; Eddy Jozefzoon, who deals with the country's social and educational issues; and Andy Rusland, who oversees the nation's economy.

The president appointed Cliffton Limburg as his press secretary and cabinet's spokesman; he was a propagandist for Bouterse and a talkshow host.

Bouterse installed Gillmore Hoefdraad, a former International Monetary Fund (IMF) official, as the new governor of the Central Bank of Suriname.

[68][69] After his inauguration as president, Bouterse immediately honoured the nine surviving conspirators, who together with him had conducted the violent 1980 Surinamese coup d'état; he awarded them the Grand Cordon of the Honorary Order of the Yellow Star, the highest honor of Suriname.

[24] In December 2011, President Bouterse granted a pardon to his foster son Romano Meriba, who in 2005 was convicted to 15 years' imprisonment for the 2002 murder and robbery of a Chinese trader.

Judge Valstein-Montnor ruled that the evidence proved that Meriba tried to commit a robbery at the ambassador's house similar to that of the trader.

According to rumors, after Meriba was released from jail, he was hired by the heavily armed Counter Terror Unit (CTU).

His delegation that visited a South American summit had two members besides Bouterse who had criminal drug records: former military Etienne Boerenveen [nl] and Hans Jannasch.

After returning from a month-long stay in the island in September 2017, his office acknowledged that he had undergone surgery for an undisclosed condition.