Pretaapnarian Shawh Radhecheran Radhakishun (also known as Pretaap Radhakishun; 3 September 1934 – 6 January 2001) was a Surinamese politician. He was

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 ...

from July 1986 to April 1987, 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 term ...

from September 1996 to August 2000.

Early life

Radhakishun was born on 3 September 1934 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 September 1953, he moved to

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

. Radhakishun earned a cand. in mathematics and physics in 1958, and a

doctorandus Doctorandus (drs., ; ) is a Dutch academic title according to the pre- Bachelor– Master system. The female form is doctoranda (dra., though this abbreviation is no longer used). The title is acquired by passing the ''doctoraalexamen'', the exam ...

in chemistry in 1962, both from Leiden University.

Prime Minister

Radhakishun was a businessman and vice-president of the Surinamese Business Association (VSB). As a member of the VHP, he was chosen to succeed Wim Udenhout as

. His power was limited by the influence of the National Military Council of Suriname.

Vice president

During the first term of the New Front government, Radhakishun became a critic of the coalition's power-sharing arrangements. After the elections in 1996, Radhakishun joined a group of VHP members in breaking away from the party leadership and supporting NDP member Jules Wijdenbosch for president. This group then joined the new government as the

BVD BVD is a brand of men's underwear, which are commonly referred to as "BVDs". The brand was founded in 1876 and named after the three founders of the New York City firm: (Joseph W.) Bradley, (Luther C.) Voorhees, and (Lyman H.) Day (thus "B.V.D." ...

. Radhakishun served as

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

from 15 September 1996 to 12 August 2000 in the cabinet of President Jules Wijdenbosch. Radhakishun and Wijdenbosch were defeated in the 2000 general elections by the New Front led by Ronald Venetiaan. Venetiaan accused both Radhakishun and Wijdenbosch of mishandling government funds after the elections. Radhakishun died on 6 September 2001 in Paramaribo after a prolonged illness.

References

1934 births 2001 deaths Vice presidents of Suriname People from Paramaribo Progressive Reform Party (Suriname) politicians National Democratic Party (Suriname) politicians Prime Ministers of Suriname Surinamese politicians of Indian descent Surinamese Hindus Leiden University alumni {{Suriname-politician-stub