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 1973, Somohardjo 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 ...

as a member 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, ...

(NPS). During the negotiations for the

Independence of Suriname The early history of Suriname dates from 3000 BCE when Native Americans first inhabited the area. The Dutch acquired Suriname from the English, and European settlement in any numbers dates from the 17th century, when it was a plantation colony ...

joined the opposition together with two other members of the government, because they considered the planned independence too hastily, and wanted a longer trajectory. In 1977, Somohardjo was one of the founders of the Javanese party Pendawa Lima. In 1980, there was a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

which brought

Desi Bouterse DESI may refer to * Desorption electrospray ionization * Drug Efficacy Study Implementation * Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument See also * Desi (disambiguation) Desi or Deshi is a self-referential term used by South Asian people. Desi may al ...

to power. In 1982, Somohardjo was jailed for alleged involvement in a counter-coup by Surendre Rambocus which was later changed to

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

. On 7 December 1982, he received permission to visit the funeral of his grandmother, and used the opportunity to escape to 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 ...

. On 3 December 1984, Somohardjo participated in the Dutch television program ''Karel'' by . It was a discussion program featuring opponents of Bouterse. During the live broadcast Evert Tjon emerged from the audience, and attacked Somohardjo. The broadcast changed to a "Please Wait" sign, and was quickly ended. After the broadcast, two shots were fired, and one person got wounded. After an internal power struggle, the party was split, and in December 1998, Somohardjo founded

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 (25 May 2010), the party was part of the People's Alliance for Progress The People ...

(PL) and became the President of the party. In 2002, a Miss Jawa competition was organized. In 2003 while serving as Minister of Social Affairs, Somohardjo was accused by one of the contestants of indecent behaviour and touching her. He was declared not guilty of the accusation due to lack of evidence, but received a conditional two months sentence for being in the dressing room, and not leaving after being asked to. On 20 February 2003, he resigned as Minister due to his conviction. On 30 June 2005, Somohardjo was the Chairman of the National Assembly, and he served until June 2010.De Nationale Assemblée: Lijst van Oud-Voorzitters
/ref> On 13 December 2007 after a heated argument,

Rashied Doekhi Mohamed Rashied Doekhi (born 16 January 1955) is a Surinamese politician and a former district commissioner of Nickerie. Because of his popularity in the western rice district, he is nicknamed ''the president of Nickerie''. He was a member of the ...

attacked Somohardjo.

Ronnie Brunswijk Ronnie Brunswijk (; born 7 March 1961) is a Surinamese politician, businessman, footballer, convicted drug trafficker, former rebel leader, and the current Vice President of Suriname. Brunswijk served in the early 1980s as the personal bodyguard ...

interfered in the altercation. After Doekhi was down, both Somohardjo and Brunswijk kicked him. The whole event was broadcast on live television and caused international disgrace. In 2020, Somhardjo failed re-election to 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 ...

. He was the oldest parliamentarian in the

from 2016 to 2020. On 1 July, Paul Somohardjo, chairman of

and coalition partner of the new government was diagnosed COVID-19 positive. He was taken to the

Academic Hospital Paramaribo Academic Hospital Paramaribo (Dutch: ''Academisch Ziekenhuis Paramaribo'' or ''AZP'') is a hospital in Paramaribo, Suriname. With 465 beds, it is the largest hospital in Suriname. History The hospital was opened on 9 March 1966 as ''Centraal Zie ...

in the evening of 30 June. On 3 July, he was released from hospital and in a stable condition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somohardjo, Paul 1943 births Living people People from Paramaribo Members of the National Assembly (Suriname) Speakers of the National Assembly (Suriname) Surinamese people of Javanese descent Pertjajah Luhur politicians 21st-century Surinamese politicians Surinamese exiles