Bouterse Returns to Suriname as Part of Military Recruitment Drive

Dutch-trained NCOs recruited from NATO forces to build the new nation’s army.

Date: 1975

Dési Bouterse, then a non-commissioned officer and noted athlete serving in the Dutch military, was among a group of Surinamese soldiers personally recruited to form the professional core of the armed forces for the newly independent Republic of Suriname.

Details:

  • The recruitment drive took place in 1975, the year of Suriname's independence from the Netherlands.
  • Surinamese Major Hein Leeuwin traveled to Germany specifically to recruit experienced Surinamese personnel serving with NATO forces to build the new Surinamese army (Surinaamse Krijgsmacht or SKM).
  • At the time, Bouterse was well-known in military circles as a top sportsman, having played on the Dutch national military basketball team and competed as a runner. He returned to Suriname that year as part of this recruitment effort.
  • Shortly before independence in 1975, Bouterse and his family returned to Suriname. This was financially attractive, as soldiers of Surinamese descent received a generous supplement from the Netherlands on top of their salaries. Bouterse himself described his motives as "purely idealistic."

Significance: This entry details the origin of Dési Bouterse's career in the Surinamese military. It shows that he was not a home-grown revolutionary but was part of a cohort of experienced, Dutch-trained soldiers specifically chosen to form the professional NCO corps of the new nation's army. This shared experience and background among the NCOs recruited from the Netherlands would form the basis of the bonds that led to the 1980 Sergeants' Coup, which was planned and executed by this same group of men who felt their professionalism and status were being disrespected by the post-independence political elite.

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