Amerigo Constantino Maria Thodé (27 July 1950 – 14 December 2023) was a Curaçaoan politician of the

Movement for the Future of Curaçao The Movement for the Future of Curaçao (, , MFK) is a political party in Curaçao, founded by Gerrit Schotte in 2010, which has 13 of the 21 seats in the Parliament of Curaçao after the 2025 Curaçao election. The party entered the island cou ...

(MFK). He served as President of the

Parliament of Curaçao The Parliament of Curaçao () on the island of Curaçao, in the Dutch Caribbean region, consists of 21 members, each elected for a four-year term in a general election. The first Parliament was installed on 10 October 2010, following the dissol ...

between November and December 2012 and once again from March to May 2017.

Life and career

Thodé was born on 27 July 1950 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, the Netherlands. During the 1980s Thodé worked as an international volleyball referee. In Curaçao he worked in the private sector until 2010 and served on the board of the

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

as vice-chairman. In the 2000s Thodé served as secretary-general of the Party Workers' Liberation Front 30 May (FOL). He was close to . At the 2006 island council elections he was number 17 on the FOL candidate list and obtained 72 votes. During the 2007 Netherlands Antilles island council elections he was no longer on the candidate list for the party. By 2010 Thodé had switched to the

(MFK), of which he also became party chair. In the

2010 Curaçao general election Island Council elections were held in Curaçao on 27 August 2010. Early elections were necessary because the island council failed to approve a proposed new constitution with a two-thirds majority in the first reading. Before it could be adopted ...

he was number 8 on the party list and obtained 163 votes. At the first meeting of the

on 10 October 2010 Thodé was elected vice president. In September 2012 both president of the Parliament, Ivar Asjes, and vice president Thodé were sacked by a political majority. Thodé was succeeded by Godett. For the

2012 Curaçao general election General elections were held in Curaçao on 19 October 2012. Early elections for the Curaçao island council were necessary as the Cabinet- Schotte lost its majority in the Estates of Curaçao. The elections were the first of the Curaçao after obt ...

he was number 5 on the candidate list for MFK and obtained 119 votes. On 2 November 2012 Thodé was elected president of the parliament. He resigned as president of the parliament on 6 December 2012 after the MFK was excluded from the new coalition government. He was succeeded four days later by . In 2015 Thodé resigned as party chair of MFK. In January 2016 Thodé was convicted of leaking confidential information from a meeting of the College of Financial Oversight. He subsequently shared this information on a radio show and in an MFK press conference. Thodé was sentenced to a conditional fine of 1400

Netherlands Antillean guilder The Netherlands Antillean guilder (; ) is a currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, which until 2010 formed the Netherlands Antilles along with Bonaire, Saba (island), Saba, and Sint Eustatius. It is subdivided into 100 ''cents'' (Dutch plural: ' ...

. An appeal verdict at the

Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba The Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba () serves the three Caribbean countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands ( Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten) and the three Caribbean special mun ...

in December 2016 resulted in the same sentence. He appealed to the

Supreme Court of the Netherlands The Supreme Court of the Netherlands ( or simply ''Hoge Raad''), officially the High Council of the Netherlands, is the final court of appeal in civil, criminal and tax cases in the Netherlands, including Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Aruba. Th ...

on 4 January 2017. In March 2019 the Attorney General at the Supreme Court stated that there were legal grounds to convict Thodé. In October 2019 Thodé lost his appeal. For the

2016 elections Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 April 2016 Djibouti * 2016 Djiboutian presidential ...

Thodé held the fifth position on the MFK list, obtaining 84 votes. As the MFK won only four seats he did not enter the parliament. When

Gilmar Pisas Gilmar Simon Pisas (born 28 October 1971) is a Curaçaoan politician and the prime minister of Curaçao, serving since 14 June 2021. He previously served as prime minister between 24 March 2017 and 29 May 2017, and as a member of the Parliam ...

became Prime Minister in March 2017 Thodé returned to the parliament on 24 March and once more became president. For the

2017 Curaçao general election Early general elections were held in Curaçao on 28 April 2017 after the fall of the government led by Hensley Koeiman. Background The previous general elections in 2016 resulted in the formation of a four-party coalition government consistin ...

he was number 29 on the party list and obtained 53 votes. William Millerson took over the presidency on 11 May 2017. Thodé was re-elected during the

2021 Curaçao general election General elections took place in Curaçao on 19 March 2021, two days after the 2021 Dutch general election. Electoral system The 21 members of the Estates are elected by proportional representation. Parties that won at least one seat in the 2 ...

. He had been number 11 on the party list under new leader Pisas and obtained 120 votes. He subsequently served as

parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislature, legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. ...

for the MFK. In parliament Thodé served in the commission for kingdom affairs. He was a fierce opponent of a law to implement a Caribbean Organ for Reform and Development (Dutch: ''Caribisch Orgaan voor Hervorming en Ontwikkeling''). His fellow MFK member and Minister of Education, Sithree van Heydoorn, called Thodé one of the best political analysts of the island. Thodé was seen as one of the most experienced members of the parliament and was praised for his broad knowledge. He could be fierce against political opponents and he debated in a loud voice.

Personal life

On 22 November 2023 it was announced Thodé suffered from health issues. He was subsequently hospitalised in the Curaçao Medical Center, where he passed into a coma. He recovered from the coma but could not reassume his position in parliament. Thodé died at Hamied's Hospice in

Willemstad Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...

on 14 December 2023, at age 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thode, Amerigo 1950 births 2023 deaths Members of the Estates of Curaçao Movement for the Future of Curaçao politicians Party Workers' Liberation Front 30 May politicians Politicians from Amsterdam Presidents of the Estates of Curaçao