HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Edmund Alexander Hoost (21 October 1934 – 8 December 1982) was a
Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
se politician and lawyer. He was Minister of Justice and Police between 1973 and 1977. After the independence of Suriname, he became the first Minister of Defence and served until 1977. He was one of the victims of the
December murders The December murders (Dutch: ''Decembermoorden'') were the murders on 7, 8, and 9 December 1982, of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling Suriname. Thirteen of these men were arrested on De ...
.


Biography

Hoost studied at the Law School in Suriname with
Hugo Pos Hugo Pos (November 28, 1913 in Paramaribo – November 11, 2000 in Amsterdam) was a Surinamese judge, writer, and poet. Biography Hugo Pos was born in Paramaribo. Raymond was his older brother. In 1925, he left Suriname for the Netherlands to stu ...
and Harold Riedewald. In 1970, together with Eddy Bruma and Roy Adama, he founded the trade union Centrale-47 (C-47), after mass strikes in 1969, demanded a new and more progressive type of labor organization. C-47 became largest trade union in Suriname, after the Mother Union, a trade union closely connected with the
National Party of Suriname The National Party of Suriname (, NPS) is a political party in Suriname, founded in 1946, and since June 2012 led by Gregory Rusland. For a long time it was the largest ruling party in the country, and it has been in government for a total of ove ...
. In 1973, Hoost became Minister of Justice and Police in the first National Party Combination (NPK I) cabinet, headed by Henck Arron, on behalf of the Nationalist Republican Party (PNR). The primary agenda of the PNR was the preparation of Suriname for independence. Once in government, negotiations started with the Dutch government headed by Prime Minister
Joop den Uyl Johannes Marten den Uijl (9 August 1919 – 24 December 1987), better known as Joop den Uyl (), was a Dutch politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1973 to 1977. He was a member of the Labour Party (PvdA ...
. Hoost was part of Surinamese delegation to negotiate the exit out of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. From 1954 until independence, Suriname was, like the Netherlands and the
Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...
, officially an equal partner within the
Kingdom of the Netherlands The Kingdom of the Netherlands (, ;, , ), commonly known simply as the Netherlands, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united under the monarch of the Netherlands, who functions as head of state. The re ...
, but foreign affairs and defense were kingdom affairs. As the Justice minister, Hoost was responsible for the transition of the Netherlands Armed Forces in Suriname (TRIS) into the Surinamese Armed Forces (SKM). After independence on 25 November 1975, Hoost became the first Minister of Defence. During the electoral campaign for the 1977 elections, the PNR ended co-operation with the NPS. In 1980, a
military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
took place in Suriname under the leadership of
Dési Bouterse Desiré Delano Bouterse (; 13 October 1945 – 23 December 2024De Ware Tijd‘Bouterse maandagavond overleden’ 27 december 2024 StarnieuwsAmbassades tekenen condoleanceregister in Ocer 27 december 2024 ) was a Surinamese military officer, poli ...
. In 1981, Hoost, together with other former ministers of the NPK I and II, were arrested on charges of corruption. The detainees were tortured and eventually released without a fair trial. He was finally released in 1982. On 11 March 1982, army officers
Surendre Rambocus Surendre Sradhanand Rambocus (5 May 1953 – 8 December 1982) was a Surinamese serviceman. For a short period, he was the highest-ranking officer of the Suriname National Army. He was involved in the unsuccessful coup d'état of March 1982 again ...
, Jiwansingh Sheombar and
Wilfred Hawker Wilfred Hawker (1955 – 13 March 1982) was a sergeant-major in the Surinamese military who was involved in two unsuccessful coups d'état in the early 1980s. Hawker was executed by the ruling military government for his role in the plots. He was ...
staged a counter-coup. The insurgency failed and Hawker was executed, while Rambocus and others were arrested. Hoost, together with the lawyers John Baboeram and Harold Riedewald, took on the defense of Rambocus at his court-martial. On 3 December the court sentenced Rambocus to 12 years in prison with forced labour. In the early morning of 8 December 1982, Hoost, Baboeram, Riedewald and 11 others were arrested and imprisoned in Fort Zeelandia, while Rambocus and Sheombar were transferred from the Memre Boekoe barracks, Santo Boma prison to Fort Zeelandia. An undisclosed number of individuals were executed, including Hoost. The only survivor was trade union leader
Fred Derby Frederik Marinus Emanuel Derby (March 31, 1940 – May 19, 2001) was a Surinamese politician and trade unionist. He was the only survivor of the December murders. In the years before his death he fought for an investigation into these events, and ...
, who was freed. Hoost is buried at the Mariusrust cemetery. Hoost was married. He was father of three daughters and one son.


Notes


References

* René de Groot, ''Drie miljard verwijten: Suriname los van Nederland 1974-1980'', 2004,


External links


Eddy Hoost (21 oktober 1934 - 8 december 1982)
Radio Nederland Wereldomroep, 5 April 2007
Suriname (Case No. 1160)
(Committee on Freedom of Association Report; 1983)
Eddie Hoost: 21 oktober 1934 — 8 december 1982 Advocaat, deken van advocaten


{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoost, Eddy 1934 births 1982 deaths Assassinated Surinamese politicians December murders Government ministers of Suriname People murdered in Suriname 20th-century Surinamese lawyers Nationalist Republican Party (Suriname) politicians South American politicians assassinated in the 1980s Politicians assassinated in 1982