Raymond Henri Pos (9 March 1910 – 5 November 1964) was a Surinamese diplomat and lawyer. He was the first

Minister Plenipotentiary of Suriname The Minister Plenipotentiary of Suriname ( nl, Gevolmachtigde Minister van Suriname) represented the constituent country of Suriname in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has existed from 1954 until the Independence of S ...

from 29 December 1954 until 1 August 1963. Subsequently, he was appointed Dutch Ambassador of Cuba. Pos played a major role in the creation of the 1954 Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands which established the political relationship between the Netherlands and its former colonies.

Biography

Pos was born on 9 March 1910 in a Jewish family who had been living in Suriname for generations. He left Suriname for the Netherlands to study at the grammar school in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...

and studied law at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

. He was promoted in 1939 for his thesis "Evenredige vertegenwoordiging en volksvertegenwoordiging" ("Proportional representation and people's representation"). Pos returned to Suriname, and worked for the Justice Department. He was promoted deputy

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in 1942. In November 1947, Pos was appointed representative for Suriname in the Netherlands. A better representation was needed, and in January 1949,

Henry Lucien de Vries Henry Lucien de Vries (12 December 1909 – 6 April 1987) was a Surinamese politician and entrepreneur. De Vries was born in Paramaribo. He studied economics at the Netherlands School of Economics and law at the University of Amsterdam. He was al ...

succeeded him as commissioner. In 1953, Pos was appointed Chairman of the Suriname delegation to the Second Round Table Conference in The Hague to establish a new relation between the Netherlands and its former colonies. He would become one of the main authors of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands in which Suriname became a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. On 29 December 1954, Pos was appointed

, and served until 1 August 1963. In July 1963, he was appointed Ambassador of the Netherlands to Cuba with an accreditation for Haiti. In 1964, 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 i ...

nominated Pos as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

to replace Currie. The nomination was returned by 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 ...

, because it only contained one name. On 29 October 1964, he was present on a Netherlands Antilles ambassador reception in

Bonaire Bonaire (; , ; pap, Boneiru, , almost pronounced ) is a Dutch island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west ( leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC i ...

. During the reception, he became unwell, and was taken to hospital in Willemstad,

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...

. Pos died on 5 November 1964, at the age of 54.

Family

Raymond Pos was the older brother of the judge and author

Hugo Pos Hugo Pos (November 28, 1913 in Paramaribo – November 11, 2000 in Amsterdam) was a Surinamese judge, writer, and poet. Biography Hugo Pos was born in Paramaribo. Raymond was his older brother. In 1925, he left Suriname for the Netherlands to st ...

. In 1951, he married Elizabeth Wakkie, former editor of '' Het Vaderland'', in the Hague.

Honours

*Commander of the Order of Orange-Nassau. *Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pos, Raymond 1910 births 1964 deaths People from Paramaribo Ambassadors of the Netherlands to Cuba Government ministers of Suriname 20th-century Surinamese lawyers Surinamese Jews Leiden University alumni Ministers plenipotentiary (Suriname) Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau Knights of the Order of the Netherlands Lion