Jaime Córdoba (11 October 1950 – 15 December 2024) was a Curaçaoan politician of the

Sovereign People Sovereign People (, ) is a political party in Curaçao founded in 2005 by Helmin Wiels and Harold Willems. The party aims for complete independence of Curaçao outside the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 2012 Wiels stated that Curaçao could bec ...

(PS) political party. Between 23 December 2016 and 29 May 2017, he was Minister for Social Development, Work, and Welfare. He was a member of the

Estates of Curaçao Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

between 2010 and December 2016 and once more from 2017 until 2021. He served as vice president of the Estates between 2012 and 2015. From December 2015 until October 2018 Córdoba served as political leader of the Sovereign People political party. He was the party leader in the Estates from December 2015 until he was appointed Minister.

Life and career

Córdoba was born in

Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...

on 11 October 1950. He originally worked as a policeman. He was a member of the

for

since the

dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010. After dissolution, the "BES islands" of the Dutch Caribbean— Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba—became ...

on 10 October 2010. On 2 November 2012, he was elected as Vice-President of the Estates. The same month Córdoba stated that he was offered 2 million

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: ' ...

to withdraw his support from the government, which was based on 11 of 21 seats of the Estates. Then in May 2013 the leader of Sovereign People, Helmin Wiels, who saw Córdoba as a future candidate for a post as Minister was assassinated. When the cabinet of Prime Minister

Ivar Asjes Ivar Onno Odwin Asjes (born 16 September 1970) is a Curaçaoan politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Curaçao from 7 June 2013 to 31 August 2015. He resigned after losing a vote of no-confidence. before becoming prime minister, Asj ...

was formed Córdoba could have become Minister of Social Affairs, Work & Welfare. He however decided against it, as to not lose party experience in the Estates and let Jeanne-Marie Francisca become minister. Córdoba was succeeded as Vice President of the Estates on 8 December 2015 by Humphrey Davelaar. He was the political leader of Pueblo Soberano since 14 December 2015, when he succeeded Helmin Wiels. He was the sole candidate in the party elections. Córdoba became faction leader of Pueblo Soberano in the Estates on 16 December 2015, taking over from Melvin Cijntje. Córdoba was named Minister for Social Development, Work and Welfare in the

Hensley Koeiman Hensley Felix Koeiman (born 21 May 1956) is a Curaçaoan politician who served as the sixth prime minister of Curaçao between 23 December 2016 and 24 March 2017. A member of the Partido MAN, he was Minister of Social Affairs, Employment and Wel ...

cabinet which was installed on 23 December 2016. His appointment ended his term in the Estates. He kept his position in the cabinet of

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 ...

, which took office on 24 March 2017. On 29 May 2017, the Pisas cabinet was succeeded by that of

Eugene Rhuggenaath Eugene Rhuggenaath (born 4 February 1970) is a Curaçaoan politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Curaçao between 29 May 2017 and 14 June 2021. He previously served as the minister for Economic Development in the Koeiman-Cabinet i ...

. After the 2017 general election the PS obtained one seat, which was occupied by Córdoba. In October 2018, Córdoba was succeeded as leader of Sovereign People by

Ben Whiteman Bernard "Ben" Denzil Whiteman (born 20 August 1954) is a Curaçaoan politician who served as the fifth prime minister of Curaçao from September 2015 to December 2016. He also was the Minister of Public Health, Environment and Nature since 31 Dec ...

. In December 2020 Córdoba left Sovereign People and continued as an independent member in the Estates. He remained in the Estates until the new Estates convened for the first time after 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 ...

, on 11 May 2021. In the final years of his life Córdoba lived in the Netherlands. He died in a nursing home in

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, on 15 December 2024, at the age of 74.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordoba, Jaime 1950 births 2024 deaths Government ministers of Curaçao Members of the Estates of Curaçao Sovereign People politicians