Lygia Louise Irene Kraag-Keteldijk (born 18 July 1941) 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 who served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

in the cabinet of President Venetiaan between 2005 and 2010.

Biography

Keteldijk was born on 18 July 1941 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 1959, she graduated high school, and went to the Netherlands to study non-western sociology at the University of Utrecht. Until 1977, she worked at the Nederlands Instituut voor Maatschappelijke Opbouw (NIMO). In 1977, Kraag-Keteldijk started to work for the Surinamese Ministry of Justice and Police. In 1981, she returned to the Netherlands to work for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. On 30 April 1981, her husband died. In 2000, Kraag-Keteldijk became Director of Political Affairs in the cabinet of President

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 ...

. On 2 September 2005, Kraag-Keteldijk was appointed

and served until 12 August 2010. On 3 October 2007, she addressed the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

with regards to Climate change in Suriname.

Honours

* Grand Officer of the

Honorary Order of the Yellow Star The Honorary Order of the Yellow Star (Dutch language, Dutch: ''Ere-Orde van de Gele Ster'') is the highest state decoration of the Republic of Suriname. The Order was instituted in 1975 at the Suriname#Independence, independence of Suriname and r ...

References

1941 births Living people Politicians from Paramaribo Utrecht University alumni Foreign ministers of Suriname National Party of Suriname politicians Women government ministers of Suriname Women sociologists Honorary Order of the Yellow Star 21st-century Surinamese women politicians 21st-century Surinamese politicians {{Suriname-bio-stub