Government

Government#

presidential republic

System

presidential republic

Capital

Paramaribo

Head of state

President Jennifer GEERLINGS-SIMONS (since 16 July 2025)

Head of government

President Jennifer GEERLINGS-SIMONS (since 16 July 2025)

Legislature

legislature name: National Assembly (Nationale Assemblee); legislative structure: unicameral; number of seats: 51 (all directly elected); electoral system: proportional representation; scope of elections: full renewal; term in office: 5 years; most recent election date: 5/25/2025; parties elected and seats per party: National Democratic Party (NDP) (18); Progressive Reform Party (VHP) (17); National Party of Suriname (NPS) (6); General Liberation and Development Party (ABOP) (6); Other (4); percentage of women in chamber: 31.4%; expected date of next election: May 2030

Judiciary

highest court(s): High Court of Justice of Suriname (consists of the court president, vice president, and 4 judges); judge selection and term of office: court judges appointed by the national president in consultation with the National Assembly, the State Advisory Council, and the Order of Private Attorneys; judges serve for life; subordinate courts: cantonal courts

Constitution

history: previous 1975; latest ratified 30 September 1987, effective 30 October 1987; amendment process: proposed by the National Assembly; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the total membership

Independence

25 November 1975 (from the Netherlands)

Administrative divisions

10 districts ( distrikten , singular - distrikt ); Brokopondo, Commewijne, Coronie, Marowijne, Nickerie, Para, Paramaribo, Saramacca, Sipaliwini, Wanica

Departments#

TODO. Ministries and authoritative sites, to be filled out.

Hierarchy#

How power is wired. The diagram below carries the generic template; refine the boxes and edges to match the current regime.

        flowchart TD
  HoS["Head of State"]
  HoG["Head of Government"]
  Leg["Legislature"]
  Jud["Judiciary"]
  Cab["Cabinet"]
  Foreign["Foreign Affairs"]
  Interior["Interior"]
  Defense["Defense"]
  Finance["Finance"]
  Justice["Justice"]

  HoS --> HoG
  HoG --> Cab
  Cab --> Foreign
  Cab --> Interior
  Cab --> Defense
  Cab --> Finance
  Cab --> Justice
  HoS -.- Leg
  HoS -.- Jud

Resources#

Public-facing portals the people use day to day. Operators monitor these for policy changes, official notices, and civil-registry data.

Resource

Site

Purpose

National portal

to be filled

One-stop government services for citizens.

Tax / revenue

to be filled

Income tax, VAT, customs.

Civil registry

to be filled

Births, deaths, marriages, national ID.

Immigration

to be filled

Visas, residency, naturalisation.

Health

to be filled

Public health, advisories, vaccination records.

Education

to be filled

Curricula, school directories, transcripts.

Statistics

to be filled

Census, economic indicators, opendata.

Police / emergency

to be filled

Reporting, missing persons, emergency contacts.
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