Santokhi, Chandrikapersad, 1959–, Surinamese political leader. Trained as a police officer in the Netherlands, he worked for the Suriname police force as an inspector, becoming chief inspector (1982), head of the national criminal investigation department (1989), and chief commissioner of police (1991). A member of the Progressive Reform party, he was minister of justice and police during 2005–10, when the country undertook a crackdown on drug trafficking. First elected to the national assembly in 2010, he lead his party's coalition to victory in the legislative elections in 2020 and was elected president.
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