The World - News from Jan. 13, 1988

Suriname’s Parliament unanimously elected a former agriculture minister as president, making him the first civilian leader of the South American nation since a military takeover in February, 1980. Ramashewak Shankar was the only presidential candidate, having been picked by the Front for Democracy and Development, the three-party coalition that took 40 of the 51 seats in the National Assembly in the Nov. 25 election. Military strongman Lt. Col. Desi Bouterse was among those attending the parliamentary vote. Shankar’s election is the final step in a transition to democracy negotiated by Bouterse and civilian leaders.