Ramsewak Shankar

Who is Ramsewak Shankar?

Ramsewak Shankar is a Surinamese politician who was the 4th President of Suriname from 1988 to 1990. He was previously Agriculture & Fisheries Minister from 1969 to 1971. He studied at Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

He was elected as President by the National Assembly after a parliamentary election was held in November 1987 following the adoption of a new constitution by the ruling military regime. Ramsewak Shankar was a former agriculture minister and succeeded Ramdat Misier as the President of Suriname.

In 1989 he agreed on pardoning the maroons, or bush negroes, and the possibility of their members keeping their arms when moving within the rain forest. Dési Bouterse and the National Democratic Party opposed the agreement, calling it a violation of the constitution and saying that this would lead to legalizing an independent military force.

In 1990, Shankar was ousted in a bloodless military coup led by Bouterse, and a military backed government was installed with Ivan Graanoogst and later Johan Kraag as the new president.