Johan Adolf "Jopie" Pengel (20 January 1916 – 5 June 1970) was 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 prime minister of Suriname from 30 June 1963 to 5 March 1969 for the National Party of Suriname (NPS).

Biography

Pengel was born in Paramaribo on 20 January 1916. He went to law school, but did not graduate. Van Dijck owned a large parcel of ground close to Pengel's home which was rented to poor Afro and Indo-Surinamese people, and started to demand large rent increases. Pengel started a protest movement against Van Dijck, and managed to raise enough money to buy the land. In 1949, he joined the National Party of Suriname, and was elected to the

Estates of Suriname The National Assembly (''De Nationale Assemblée'', ''The Assembly'', commonly abbreviated "DNA") is the Parliament, representing the legislative branch of government in Suriname. It is a unicameral legislature. The assembly has been situated in ...

. He became one of the most influential politicians in Suriname at that time. In 1952, he became chairman of

General Alliance of Labour Unions in Suriname The General Alliance of Labour Unions in Suriname (AVVS, or De Moederbond) is a trade union federation in Suriname. It was founded in 1951. In 1982 Cyrill Daal, the president of De Moederbond, was executed by the military. In 1986 the Internati ...

. In 1955, he was elected Chairman of the Estates of Suriname.De Nationale Assemblée: Lijst van Oud-Voorzitters
/ref> In 1955, the NPS, led by Pengel and the United Hindustani Party (VHP), the largest Hindu party led by Jagernath Lachmon, fashioned a coalition which successfully took power in 1958 and held it until 1967, allowing both the groups to understand each other. In 1958, Pengel was formateur of the Emanuels government, however he decided to remain party leader and not take part in the government. In 1963, Pengel was elected Prime Minister of Suriname. Under Pengel's government, the Surinamese infrastructure was strongly developed. Roads were constructed and existing infrastructure was strongly improved. Two new hospitals were built. In 1967, he was re-elected and also served as Minister of General Affair, Interior and

Finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

. The

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States ...

was of the opinion that Pengel's government was spending too much money, and cut development aid. This caused strikes which led to the downfall of his government in 1969. Pengel died of

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

on 5 June 1970, at the age of 54 in Paramaribo.

Legacy

Pengel owned a country residence in

Carolina Carolina may refer to: Geography * The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina ** North Carolina, a U.S. state ** South Carolina, a U.S. state * Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712 * Carolina, Alabama, a town in ...

on the Blackwatra Creek. Artificial rapids were constructed in the creek to give the impression of a

bubble bath A bubble bath is a filled bathtub with a layer of surfactant foam on the surface of the water and consequently also the surfactant product used to produce the foam or soap. Less commonly, aerated or carbonated baths are called ''bubble baths''. ...

. After his death, it was turned into the

Blaka Watra Cassipora is an indigenous village of Lokono Amerindians in the resort of Carolina in the Para District in Suriname. The village is located near the Blaka Watra recreation area. It is also near a 17th-century Jewish village, however only the cem ...

recreation area. Pengel was a collector of animals. When he received lions in 1966, he thought it would be better to built a zoo. In 1972, the

Paramaribo Zoo The Paramaribo Zoo is the only zoo in Suriname. The zoo opened in May 1972, and was an initiative of prime-minister Jopie Pengel. It is located adjacent to the in Rainville, Paramaribo. History Prime-minister Pengel privately kept many animals ...

opened. In 1974, a statue of Pengel was revealed on

Onafhankelijkheidsplein The Onafhankelijkheidsplein (, Independence Square) is a town square in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. The square is situated in the historical inner city, near the Suriname River and the Presidential Palace of Suriname. Before the indepen ...

. The statue was created by Stuart Robles de Medina. In 1990, the main airport at Zanderij was renamed Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pengel, Johan Adolf 1916 births 1970 deaths National Party of Suriname politicians People from Paramaribo Prime Ministers of Suriname Finance ministers of Suriname Surinamese evangelicals Chairmen of the Estates of Suriname Deaths from sepsis Surinamese trade unionists