Gregory Allan Rusland (born 9 November 1959) 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. He served as Minister for Natural Resources between 2005 and 2010. In 2012 he became leader of the

National Party of Suriname The National Party of Suriname ( nl, Nationale Partij Suriname, NPS) is a social democratic 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, ...

. Rusland has been a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

since 2015.

Early life and career

Rusland was born on 9 November 1959 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 ...

. He studied agricultural production at the

Anton de Kom University of Suriname Anton de Kom University ( nl, Anton de Kom Universiteit van Suriname) is the only university in Suriname. It is located in the capital, Paramaribo, and named for Anton de Kom, an anti-colonialist activist who was killed by the Nazis while in exi ...

and received a bachelor's degree in 1982. He continued his studies in the same field at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and obtained an MSc in 1984. Rusland obtained a further PhD at the same institute in 1987. He held several teaching positions at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname between 1987 and 2005. Between 1987 and 2000 Rusland also helped found several institutes at the university. He also went into business and amongst other ventures served as president-commissioner of a shrimp company.

Political career

Rusland served as Minister for Natural Resources between 2005 and 2010. In this period he received criticism for the low taxation rate that Canadian mining company Iamgold had to pay. After the

2010 Surinamese general election General elections were held in Suriname on 25 May 2010. Nine entities contested the election, including several coalitions. Pre-election polls suggested a share of 41% of the vote going to the "Mega Combination" coalition that includes the Natio ...

Rusland was candidate for the Vice Presidency on behalf of the

New Front for Democracy and Development The New Front for Democracy and Development ( nl, Nieuw Front voor Democratie en Ontwikkeling) was a social-democratic political alliance in Suriname. At the legislative elections (25 May 2005), the alliance won 41.2% of the popular votes and 23 ...

next to presidential candidate

Chan Santokhi Chandrikapersad "Chan" Santokhi ( Sarnami: चान संतोखी; ; born 3 February 1959) is a Surinamese politician and former police officer who is the 9th president of Suriname, since 2020. After winning the 2020 elections, Santokhi ...

. Since June 2012 Rusland is leader of the

, taking over leadership from

Ronald Venetiaan Ronald Runaldo Venetiaan (born 18 June 1936) is a former politician who served as the 6th President of Suriname. Biography Venetiaan was born in Paramaribo. In 1955, Venetiaan left Suriname to study mathematics and physics at the University of Lei ...

. He won the internal party election against Ivan Fernald, with Rusland winning seven out of eleven districts. In the

2015 Surinamese general election General elections were held in Suriname on 25 May 2015. The National Democratic Party won an absolute majority on its own for the first time. Electoral system The 51 seats in the National Assembly were elected using proportional representation ...

, Rusland was elected to the

for the electoral district of Paramaribo. After the elections the National Assembly had to elect the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and

Vice President of Suriname The vice president of Suriname ( nl, Vicepresident van de Republiek Suriname) is the second-highest political position in Suriname, after the president. The president and the vice president are elected by the National Assembly for five-year ter ...

. Rusland once again served as candidate for vice president next to Chan Santokhi. In March 2020, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Suriname The COVID-19 pandemic in Suriname was caused by Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Suriname on 13 March 2020. The case was a person who travelled from the Netherlands the previous week. O ...

, Rusland expressed support for the government measures taken to suppress the pandemic. However, he was critical of the evening

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

, stating that it reminded him of the military government of the 1980s. On 23 April 2020, after the public prosector had indicated that it wanted to prosecute Finance Minister Gillmore Hoefdraad for mismanagement at the

Central Bank of Suriname The Central Bank of Suriname ( nl, Centrale Bank van Suriname) is Suriname’s highest monetary authority and the country’s governing body in monetary and economic affairs. The Central Bank’s tasks were legislated in the Bank Act of 1956. Lik ...

, Rusland stated that Hoedraad should immediately offer his position to the President. On 30 May 2020, five days after the

2020 Surinamese general election General elections were held in Suriname on 25 May 2020. The elections occurred concurrently with an economic crisis in Suriname, as well as the COVID-19 crisis. Electoral system The 51 seats in the National Assembly are elected using party-list p ...

was held, and with the official results still pending, Rusland and the leaders of the Progressive Reform 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 ...

and

Pertjajah Luhur The Pertjajah Luhur is a political party in Suriname. Founded in 1998 by Paul Somohardjo, it represents Javanese Surinamese. At the last legislative elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most membe ...

signed an agreement to form a coalition government. Rusland was once again elected to the

for Paramaribo District in the 2020 elections. On 1 July 2020, Rusland tested COVID-19 positive. He had been tested, because

Paul Somohardjo Paul Salam Somohardjo (born 2 May 1943) is a Surinamese politician of Javanese descent. Somohardjo (nickname: ''Sómo'') has been called Paul Salam Somohardjo since childhood. Somohardjo also owns a radio and television station. Biography In 19 ...

with whom he had lengthy meetings about the new government tested positive. Rusland's wife was infected as well even though she had stayed at home for the last three weeks. In December 2020 he was re-elected as leader of the National Party of Suriname for a third time.

Personal life

Rusland is married and has two children. His father was a union leader and served as Minister of Education and his brother served as Minister of Finance. Rusland has stated he is oriented towards the United States and has a special link with

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rusland, Gregory 1959 births Living people Anton de Kom University of Suriname alumni Government ministers of Suriname Members of the National Assembly (Suriname) National Party of Suriname politicians People from Paramaribo Surinamese businesspeople University of Florida alumni