Henck Arron
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Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron (25 April 1936 – 4 December 2000) was a Surinamese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Suriname after it gained independence in 1975. A member of 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 ...
, he served from 24 December 1973 with the transition government, to 25 February 1980. He was overthrown in a
coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
by the military, led by
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 ...
. Released in 1981 after charges of corruption were dropped, he returned to banking, his previous career. In 1987, Arron was elected as Vice President of Suriname and served until another coup in 1990 overthrew the government.


Biography

Arron was born in
Paramaribo Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's p ...
in 1936. He completed high school in 1956, and moved to 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 ...
to study banking. Arron worked several years at the Amsterdamsche Bank. On return to
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 ...
, he became staff member at the Vervuurts Bank (current name Hakrinbank). In late 1963, he became deputy director of the Volkskredietbank (People's Credit Union). In 1961, Arron became a member of 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 ...
(NPS), the main Creole party. In 1970, Arron was chosen as the Chairman of the NPS. In 1973, he created a coalition which included the pro-independence Nationalist Republican Party (PNR), that won that year's
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
. On 24 December 1973, Arron became prime minister, and lead the final negotiation for the independence of Suriname. The NPS found an ally in the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) who wanted independence as soon as possible. In February 1974, Arron announced that Suriname would be seeking independence before the end of 1975. Many observers were surprised, as Arron's NPS did not have a majority in favour of independence. The Netherlands granted Suriname independence on 25 November 1975. The independence was marked by social unrest, economic depression, and rumours of corruption. Its leaders were accused of fraud in the 1977 elections, in which Arron won a further term. During the first years of independence about one-third of the population emigrated to the Netherlands. The hastily created Suriname National Army had many
non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
s who tried to unionise complaining about corruption, and poor pay. Arron refused to recognise them, and arrested the ringleaders who were to go to trial on 26 February 1980. Also, elections were planned for March of that year. On 25 February, Arron was overthrown and jailed in a coup by the
military 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 ...
led by
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, Arron was released under
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
. A year later, he was selected as managing director of the Surinamese People's Credit Bank. In 1987, the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, Netherlands, France, and United States pressured the military government to negotiate, and Suriname saw a return to democracy. That year Arron was elected as Vice President of Suriname (and therefore Chairman of the Council of Ministers), serving from 26 January 1988 to 24 December 1990. Ramsewak Shankar was elected as president. Their government was overthrown in 1990 in another coup by Bouterse and the military. In December 2000, Arron was invited by the
Royal Tropical Institute KIT, formerly the Royal Tropical Institute (Dutch: Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen), is an applied knowledge institute located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is an independent centre of expertise, education, intercultural cooperation and hospi ...
to the Netherlands to talk about 25 years of Surinamese independence. On the evening of 4 December, he died at the home of his brother as a result of cardiac arrest.


Gallery

Henck Arron 1975.jpg, Arron in 1975 Henck Arron.jpg, Statue of Arron in Paramaribo


Honours

*
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 ...
: ''Grand Cordon'' (Grootlint), Honorary Order of the Yellow Star (2000)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arron, Henck 1936 births 2000 deaths Finance ministers of Suriname Grand Cordons of the Honorary Order of the Yellow Star Surinamese independence activists Leaders ousted by a coup National Party of Suriname politicians Politicians from Paramaribo Prime ministers of Suriname Surinamese bankers 20th-century Surinamese businesspeople Surinamese Roman Catholics Vice presidents of Suriname