Name Willy Soemita | Role Political figure | |
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Born 1 March 1936 (age 88) ( 1936-03-01 ) Commewijne, Suriname Political party Party for National Unity and Solidarity Party Party for National Unity and Solidarity | ||
William "Willy" Soemita (born March 1, 1936) is a Surinamese parliamentarian and minister.
His father Iding Soemita was born in West Java and came as a contract labourer to Suriname where he founded the political party Kaum Tani Persatuan Indonesia (KTPI) in 1949. In August 1972, Willy succeeded his father as chairman of the Javanese Surinamese party.
Career
Soemita became head of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, then Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries in 1973. Because of corruption in agriculture in 1977, he was sentenced to prison for 12 months. After the restoration of democracy in Suriname, Soemita returned as minister in 1988, taking the portfolio of Minister of Social Affairs and Housing. This ended in 1990 because of the military coup known as the "telephone coup". From 1991 to 1996 he was again Minister.
In 2005, he coached Sonny Kertoidjojo to succeed him as chairman of the KTPI. However, in early 2007, Kertoidjojo decided not to run. The then 71-year-old Soemita was then re-elected as chairman of KTPI.