Jennifer Geerlings-Simons

About

Jennifer Geerlings-Simons (née Simons; born 5 September 1953) is a Surinamese politician and former physician who is serving as the eleventh president of Suriname since 16 July 2025. A member of the National Democratic Party (NDP), she has been the party’s president since 2024.
Geerlings-Simons began her career as a physician, working as a dermatologist, and later in the National HIV/AIDS program. In 1996, she joined politics and was elected to the National Assembly in the general elections. Shortly after the 2010 general elections, Geerlings-Simons was elected the chairperson of the National Assembly from 2010 to 2020, becoming the second female to hold this role.
In July 2024, Geerlings-Simons became the president of the National Democratic Party after the death of Dési Bouterse. The following year in May 2025, she led the party to a first-place plurality in the general election held on 25 May. Geerlings-Simons was subsequently elected President on 6 July 2025, becoming the first female president in the nation’s history.

== Early life and career ==
Simons grew up in Paramaribo, as the oldest of four children. She studied medicine at the University of Suriname, graduating in 1979….