Suriname's former President Santokhi dies aged 67
Former Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, an ex-police commissioner who investigated the 1982 killings of more than a dozen political opponents that deeply scarred the South American country, has died. He was 67, News.Az reports, citing AP.
Santokhi, who was also known as “Chan,” led the country as president from 2020 to 2025, and previously served as minister of justice and police from 2005 to 2010.
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Suriname President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons confirmed Santokhi’s death in a statement on social media, writing that “his years of service in various public functions will be remembered.”
The cause of death was not immediately known.
Santokhi took over a bankrupt Suriname from his predecessor, former dictator Desi Bouterse, and led the country to economic stability, partly supported by an International Monetary Fund program. However, austere measures implemented to comply with the program translated into big sacrifices for the Surinamese people, including the phasing out of fuel, water and electricity subsidies.
In February 2023, hundreds of demonstrators stormed Suriname’s Parliament to protest high fuel and electricity prices as they demanded Santokhi’s resignation.
Voters denied Santokhi a second term following the May 2025 general election.
By Nijat Babayev
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