Jacques Adam Drielsma (14 October 1886 – 31 July 1974) was a Surinamese lawyer and notary who served as acting

Prime Minister of Suriname This article lists the prime ministers of Suriname from 1949 to 1988. In 1988 the position of Prime Minister of Suriname was abolished and replaced by a Vice President, who chairs the Council of Ministers ex officio. List of prime ministers ;P ...

in 1951, and Finance minister between 1949 and 1952. In 1957, he was sentenced to two years in prison for

embezzlement Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...

Biography

Drielsma was born on 14 October 1886 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

from a Surinamese mother and a Frisian father. After receiving his ' (non-academic law degree) in Suriname in 1916, he started to work as a lawyer. On 1 June 1926, he became a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

and successor to Da Costa who had retired. Drielsma was first elected to the Colonial States in 1923. and served until 1930. On 27 June 1949, he became

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

in the cabinet of

Julius Caesar de Miranda Julius Caesar de Miranda (3 April 1906 – 28 November 1956) was a Surinamese jurist and politician. De Miranda was the first prime minister of Suriname. Biography De Miranda was a descendant of an old established family of planters. He went t ...

. In January 1952, he resigned due to a conflict of interest, because the Vervuurts Bank of which he was a commissioner was in bankruptcy court. On 5 April 1951, he was appointed acting

, and served until 4 June 1951, when he was succeeded by

Jan Buiskool Jan Buiskool (15 September 1899 – 30 October 1960) was Surinamese Prime Minister and judge in Suriname, the Netherlands and Tangier. Biography Buiskool was born as Johannes Ate Eildert Buiskool on 15 September 1899 in Koedijk, Netherlands. His ...

. Drielsma's notary office went bankrupt in 1956 with a debt of ƒ 1.15 million (about US$6.2 million in 2021). His notary office also acted as a

mortgage bank Mortgage bank is a bank that specializes in originating and/or servicing mortgage loans. In the United States, a mortgage bank is a state-licensed banking entity that makes mortgage loans directly to consumers. The difference between a mortgage b ...

where people could deposit their money at interest. About 400 people had an account at his office. On 27 July 1957, he was sentenced to two years imprisonment for

. Drielsma died on 31 July 1974 in Paramaribo, at the age of 87.

Honours

* Officer of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

(1930).

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drielsma, Jacques Adam 1886 births 1974 deaths Prime Ministers of Suriname Lawyers from Amsterdam Politicians from Amsterdam Finance ministers of Suriname Politicians convicted of embezzlement 20th-century Surinamese lawyers Surinamese criminals Heads of government who were later imprisoned Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau