Desiré Delano "Dési" Bouterse[1] (13 October 1945 – 23 December 2024) was a Surinamese politician. He was the President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987 he was Suriname's de facto leader when the country was under military rule.
On February 25, 1980, the government of Suriname underwent a military coup led by Bouterse. Though the Suriname Presidency was retained, Bouterse was the nation's ruler until his resignation in 1988.
Bouterse is held responsible for the numerous human rights violations committed under his dictatorship, such as the murder of 15 people known as the December murders, and the massacre in the village Moiwana.
On July 19, 2010, he was elected as President of Suriname with 36 of 50 parliament votes.[2]
In 2023, he was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment for the 1982 murders of fifteen political dissidents.[3] He was reported missing by the Surinamese authorities in January 2024 after refusing to report to prison.[4] He was considered a fugitive until his death.
Bouterse died on December 23, 2024 from liver failure while in hiding at the Copi Nature Reserve at the age of 79.[5][6]
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.