Ronnie Brunswijk

Ronnie Brunswijk, born on March seventh, nineteen sixty-one, is a multifaceted Surinamese figure known for his roles as a politician, businessman, former rebel leader, footballer, and convicted drug trafficker. His political journey has seen him serve as the Vice President of Suriname from two thousand twenty to two thousand twenty-five, marking a significant chapter in his life.

Brunswijk's early career began as a personal bodyguard to military dictator Dési Bouterse in the early nineteen eighties. However, his tenure was cut short when he requested a raise and was denied back pay. This led him to form the Surinamese Liberation Army, commonly referred to as the Jungle Commando, in nineteen eighty-five. His mission was to advocate for the rights of the Maroon minority, descendants of runaway African slaves who established independent communities in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

From nineteen eighty-six, Brunswijk's forces engaged in a fierce struggle against Bouterse's national military during the Surinamese Interior War, a civil conflict that resulted in hundreds of deaths and over ten thousand refugees fleeing to French Guiana. This tumultuous period continued until a peace treaty was signed in nineteen ninety-two, allowing Brunswijk to transition into a political career.

In the years that followed, he became a prominent political figure, chairing the General Liberation and Development Party (Algemene Bevrijdings- en Ontwikkelingspartij, ABOP) and serving as a representative in the National Assembly. Additionally, he is the owner of the Marowijne football club Inter Moengotapoe, where he has also played. His political ascent culminated on June twenty-ninth, two thousand twenty, when he was appointed Chairperson of the National Assembly, followed by his election as vice-president on July thirteenth in an uncontested election, with his inauguration taking place on July sixteenth.