Suriname's parliament has appointed congress member Jennifer Geerlings-Simons as the new president. She will thus become the country's first female leader when she officially takes office on July 16.
71-year-old Geerlings-Simons takes over in a turbulent political situation, after the incumbent president Chandrikapersad Santokhi whose rule has been marked by corruption scandals and economic uncertainty.
I am aware that the difficult task I have taken on is further complicated by the fact that I will be the first woman to serve the country in this position, said Geerlings-Simons after the vote in parliament.
She and her future vice president Gregory Rusland promise to prioritize stabilizing the country's finances. In the short term, Suriname can expect new revenue from oil extraction from deposits recently discovered off the country's coast.
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