Jean-fils Désiré Victor (Desi) Polanen (16 May 1913 – 17 May 1994) was a Surinamese politician and diplomat.

Biography

After finishing gymnasium in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

, he went to study at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

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after which he took dental exams back in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in 1948. In 1954, he obtained his doctorate in oral surgery cum laude in

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, with the thesis ''Die Zahnextraktion in bakteriologischer Sicht''. In the years 1946 and 1947 he already had a private dental practice in Aruba and after his doctorate, he had a private dental practice in Suriname. In addition, he was president of several organizations such as the dental association in Paramaribo, the Moravian Church and the deaconess hospital in Paramaribo (also co-founder). Besides all of this, he was also politically active. In 1961

Het Parool ''Het Parool'' () is an Amsterdam-based daily newspaper. It was first published on 10 February 1941 as a resistance paper during the German occupation of the Netherlands (1940–1945). In English, its name means ''The Password'' or ''The Motto' ...

published an article in which he stated that Surinamese ministers were corrupt. In response, R.H. Pos, then

minister plenipotentiary of Suriname The Minister Plenipotentiary of Suriname ( nl, Gevolmachtigde Minister van Suriname) represented the constituent country of Suriname in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has existed from 1954 until the Independence of S ...

, came with a telegram. In it Polanen was portrayed as an unimportant figure in which it was also subtly mentioned that his brother Pieter, as the leader of a gang, had committed attacks against government personnel. Reference was made to a clumsily executed failed attack against J. Pengel. Furthermore, around 1962 Polanen founded a new political party together with G.J.C. van der Schroeff: Waarom Iets Nieuws (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''Why Something New'')(WIN). Not long after, he was one of the signers of a petition by the ''National Committee Against Independence-Now''. After the elections of Oct. 24, 1969, a cabinet was formed led by Sedney, himself belonging to the Progressive National Party (PNP), and the same party nominated Polanen as

Minister Plenipotentiary of Suriname The Minister Plenipotentiary of Suriname ( nl, Gevolmachtigde Minister van Suriname) represented the constituent country of Suriname in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has existed from 1954 until the Independence of S ...

in the Netherlands. On Jan. 1, 1970, Polanen took over that position from

Walter Lim A Po Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

. He would remain in office until the end of February 1974 after which he worked for some time as a dentist in

Aerdenhout Aerdenhout () is a village in the municipality of Bloemendaal, Netherlands. Located in the dunes between Haarlem and the beach town of Zandvoort, it ranks as the wealthiest town in the Netherlands. The name "Aerdenhout" means ''Andere hout'', Dutc ...

, North Holland. He died in the Netherlands in 1994 at the age of 81.

Bibliography

* ''Die Zahnextraktion in bakteriologischer Sicht'' (dissertation), Hamburg, 1955 * ''Herinneringen aan mijn vader Johannes Hendrik Nelson Polanen. De eerste neger-hoofdonderwijzer in Suriname (1882-1939)'', Paramaribo, 1982 (self-published)

References

1913 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Surinamese politicians Politicians from Paramaribo Government ministers of Suriname Surinamese diplomats Ministers plenipotentiary (Suriname) {{DEFAULTSORT:Polanen, Desi