Henck Arron

{{Infobox officeholder

| alt =

| image = Henck Arron Schiphol persconferentie 1988 (cropped).jpg

| caption = Henck Arron in 1988

| office1 = Prime Minister of Suriname

| monarch1 = Queen Juliana (1973–1975)

| governor_general1 = Johan Ferrier (1973–1975)

| president1 = Johan Ferrier (1975–1980)

| term_start1 = 24 December 1973

| term_end1 = 25 February 1980

| predecessor1 = Jules Sedney

| successor1 = Henk Chin A Sen

| office = 1st Vice President of Suriname{{cite web |title=Historie Vice Presidenten: Overzicht van alle Vicepresidenten van Suriname vanaf 1987 |url=http://www.gov.sr/kabinet-van-de-vice-president/over-het-kabinet-van-de-vicepresident/historie.aspx |website=Kabinet van de Vicepresident |publisher=De Overheid van de Republiek Suriname |access-date=3 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140914/http://www.gov.sr/kabinet-van-de-vice-president/over-het-kabinet-van-de-vicepresident/historie.aspx |archive-date=12 June 2018 |language=nl |date=13 August 2010}}

| president = Ramsewak Shankar

| term_start = 25 January 1988

| term_end = 24 December 1990

| predecessor = Office Established

| successor = Jules Wijdenbosch

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1936|4|25|df=y}}

| birth_place = Paramaribo, Suriname

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2000|12|4|1936|4|25|df=y}}

| death_place = Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands

| birthname = Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron

| spouse = Antoinette Leeuwin

| party = National Party of Suriname

}}

Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron (25 April 1936 – 4 December 2000) was a Surinamese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Suriname after it gained independence in 1975.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/06/world/henck-arron-64-who-guided-suriname-to-independence-in-75.html|title=Henck Arron, 64, Who Guided Suriname to Independence in '75|website=New York Times|date=6 December 2000|access-date=22 June 2020}} A member of the National Party of Suriname, he served from 24 December 1973 with the transition government, to 25 February 1980. He was overthrown in a coup d'état by the military, led by Dési Bouterse. Released in 1981 after charges of corruption were dropped, he returned to banking, his previous career. In 1987, Arron was elected as Vice President of Suriname and served until another coup in 1990 overthrew the government.

Biography

Arron was born in Paramaribo in 1936. He completed high school in 1956, and moved to the Netherlands to study banking. Arron worked several years at the Amsterdamsche Bank.{{cite web|url=https://historiek.net/henck-arron-1936-2000/2975/|title=Henck Arron (1936–2000)|website=Historiek|date=December 2008 |access-date=22 June 2020|language=nl}} On return to Suriname, he became staff member at the Vervuurts Bank (current name Hakrinbank). In late 1963, he became deputy director of the Volkskredietbank (People's Credit Union).{{cite web|url=https://www.suriname.nu/701vips/henckarronsuriname.html|title=Henck Arron|website=Suriname.nu|access-date=22 June 2020|language=nl}}

In 1961, Arron became a member of the National Party of Suriname (NPS), the main Creole party. In 1970, Arron was chosen as the Chairman of the NPS. In 1973, he created a coalition which included the pro-independence Nationalist Republican Party (PNR), that won that year's general election. On 24 December 1973, Arron became prime minister, and lead the final negotiation for the independence of Suriname. The NPS found an ally in the Dutch Labour Party (PvdA) who wanted independence as soon as possible.{{cite web|url=http://rozenbergquarterly.com/the-kingdom-of-the-netherlands-in-the-caribbean-suriname-1954-2004-kroniek-van-een-illusie/|title=The Kingdom Of The Netherlands In The Caribbean. Suriname 1954 – 2004: Kroniek van een illusie|website=Rozenberg Quarterly|access-date=22 June 2020|language=nl}} In February 1974, Arron announced that Suriname would be seeking independence before the end of 1975. Many observers were surprised, as Arron's NPS did not have a majority in favour of independence.{{Cite journal |last=Van Amersfoort |first=Hans |date=2011 |title=How the Dutch Government stimulated the unwanted immigration from Suriname |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d71958a0-7fe7-4809-b635-1e468cfb96a1 |journal=IMI Working Papers |language=English |publisher=International Migration Institute, University of Oxford |issue=10}}

The Netherlands granted Suriname independence on 25 November 1975. The independence was marked by social unrest, economic depression, and rumours of corruption.{{cite news|url=https://npofocus.nl/artikel/7548/wat-zijn-de-decembermoorden|title=Wat zijn de Decembermoorden|website=NPO Focus|language=nl|access-date=22 June 2020}} Its leaders were accused of fraud in the 1977 elections, in which Arron won a further term. During the first years of independence about one-third of the population emigrated to the Netherlands.{{cite web|url=http://www.smc94.nl/suriname-nederland/Webtentoonstelling.html|title=WEBTENTOONSTELLING|website=Suriname-Nederland 40 jaar later|access-date=22 June 2020|language=nl}}

The hastily created Suriname National Army had many non-commissioned officers who tried to unionise complaining about corruption, and poor pay. Arron refused to recognise them, and arrested the ringleaders who were to go to trial on 26 February 1980.{{cite web|url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00095576/00033/7x|title=The Year of the Sergeants|access-date=22 June 2020|date=1980|author=Caribbean Review|website=University of Florida}} Also, elections were planned for March of that year. On 25 February, Arron was overthrown and jailed in a coup by the military led by Dési Bouterse. In 1981, Arron was released under house arrest. A year later, he was selected as managing director of the Surinamese People's Credit Bank.{{cite news| url = https://www.theguardian.com/news/2001/jan/24/guardianobituaries| title = Obituary Henck Arron| author = Gunson, Phil| date = 24 January 2001| access-date = 24 February 2020|newspaper = The Guardian}}

In 1987, the United Nations, Netherlands, France, and United States pressured the military government to negotiate, and Suriname saw a return to democracy. That year Arron was elected as Vice President of Suriname (and therefore Chairman of the Council of Ministers), serving from 26 January 1988 to 24 December 1990. Ramsewak Shankar was elected as president. Their government was overthrown in 1990 in another coup by Bouterse and the military.

In December 2000, Arron was invited by the Royal Tropical Institute to the Netherlands to talk about 25 years of Surinamese independence. On the evening of 4 December, he died at the home of his brother as a result of cardiac arrest.