Royal palm, faya lobi (flower); national colors: green, white, red, yellow.
Title | "God zij met ons Suriname!" (God Be With Our Suriname) |
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Lyric/music | Cornelis Atses HOEKSTRA and Henry DE ZIEL/Johannes Corstianus DE PUY |
Date of Independence | 25 November 1975 (from the Netherlands) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 25 November (1975) |
Legal system | civil law system influenced by Dutch civil law; note - a new criminal code was enacted in 2017 |
International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
Constitution | |
History | Previous 1975; latest ratified 30 September 1987, effective 30 October 1987 |
Amendments | Proposed by the National Assembly; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the total membership; amended 1992 |
Citizenship | |
Citizenship by birth | no |
Citizenship by descent only | at least one parent must be a citizen of Suriname |
Dual citizenship recognized | no |
Residency requirement for naturalization | 5 years |
Executive Branch | |
Chief of state | President Chandrikapersad "Chan" SANTOKHI (since 16 July 2020) |
Head of government | President Chandrikapersad "Chan" SANTOKHI (since 16 July 2020) |
Cabinet | Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president |
Elections/appointments | president and vice president indirectly elected by the National Assembly; president and vice president serve a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 13 July 2020 (next to be held in May 2025) |
Election results | 2020: Chandrikapersad "Chan" SANTOKHI elected president unopposed; National Assembly vote - NA 2015: Desire Delano BOUTERSE reelected president unopposed; National Assembly vote - NA |
Legislative branch | |
Description | Unicameral National Assembly or Nationale Assemblee (51 seats; members directly elected in 10 multi-seat constituencies by party-list proportional representation vote, using the D'Hondt method, to serve 5-year terms) |
Elections | Last held on 25 May 2020 (next to be held in May 2025) |
Election results | Percent of vote by party - VHP 41.1%, NDP 29.4%, ABOP 17.6%, NPS 7.8%, other 3.9%; seats by party - VHP 20, NDP 16, ABOP 9, NPS 3, BEP 2, PL 2; composition - men 35, women 16, percentage women 31.4% |
Judicial branch | |
Highest court(s) | High Court of Justice of Suriname (consists of the court president, vice president, and 4 judges); note - appeals beyond the High Court are referred to the Caribbean Court of Justice; human rights violations can be appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights with judgments issued by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Jan Marten Willem SCHALKWIJK (since 19 April 2022) |
Chancery | 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20008 |
Telephone | [1] (202) 629-4302 |
FAX | [1] (202) 629-4769 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://surinameembassy.org/index.html |
Consulate(s) general | Miami |
Diplomatic representation from the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Robert J. FAUCHER (since 31 January 2023) |
Embassy | 165 Kristalstraat, Paramaribo |
Mailing address | 3390 Paramaribo Place, Washington DC 20521-3390 |
Telephone | [597] 556-700 |
FAX | [597] 551-524 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://sr.usembassy.gov/ |
National heritage | |
Total World Heritage Sites | 3 (2 cultural, 1 natural) |
Selected World Heritage Site locales | Central Suriname Nature Reserve (n); Historic Inner City of Paramaribo (c); Jodensavanne Archaeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and Cassipora Creek Cemetery (c) |
Want to know more about Suriname? Check all different factbooks for Suriname below.