Alice Amafo (born 4 February 1977) is a

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

se politician and former government minister. She was the youngest

se minister when first appointed at age 28 and the first

Maroon Maroon ( US/ UK , Australia ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word ''marron'', or chestnut. "Marron" is also one of the French translations for "brown". According to multiple dictionaries, there are var ...

woman. She became a minister again in 2010.

Biography

Alice Hortencia Amafo was born in

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the 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 ...

in Suriname. She first qualified in Scientific Studies before taking

Business Administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

at Anton de Kom University where she graduated in 2003. Amafo was a follower of

Ronnie Brunswijk Ronnie Brunswijk (; born 7 March 1961) is a Surinamese politician, businessman, footballer, convicted drug trafficker, former rebel leader, and the current Vice President of Suriname. Brunswijk served in the early 1980s as the personal bodyguard ...

and the ABOP party (

General Liberation and Development Party The General Liberation and Development Party ( nl, Algemene Bevrijdings- en Ontwikkelingspartij, ABOP) is a political party in Suriname, founded and chaired by ex-rebel leader Ronnie Brunswijk in 1990 after several members of the BEP were expell ...

). Her first job was looking after Aeronautical statistics. She became interested in politics because of the poor access to education by women outside the cities of Suriname. Amafo had only had an education herself because her father had moved to get his children educated. She was the youngest

minister at 28 when appointed in September 2005 and the first

woman. She was the Minister for Transport and succeeded Guno Castelen. She resigned in 2007 but was appointed to office again in 2010 by President

Dési Bouterse Desiré Delano "Dési" Bouterse (; born 13 October 1945) is a Surinamese military officer, politician, convicted murderer and drug trafficker who served as President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987, he was Suriname's ''de facto ...

as Minister of Agriculture and Housing succeeding Hendrik Setrowidjojo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amafo, Alice 1977 births Living people Government ministers of Suriname Politicians from Paramaribo Surinamese Maroons Anton de Kom University of Suriname alumni Transport ministers Women government ministers of Suriname 21st-century Surinamese women politicians Agriculture ministers General Liberation and Development Party politicians 21st-century Surinamese politicians