Alejandro Felipe Paula

Alejandro Felipe Paula
Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles
In office
28 December 1993 – 31 March 1994
MonarchBeatrix
GovernorJaime Saleh
Preceded bySuzanne Camelia-Römer
Succeeded byMiguel Pourier
Personal details
Born(1937-05-02)2 May 1937
Curaçao
Died13 August 2018(2018-08-13) (aged 81)
NationalityDutch

Alejandro Felipe Paula also known as Jandi Paula (2 May 1937 – 13 August 2018) was a Curaçaoan academic, historian and politician. He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles from 28 December 1993 to 31 March 1994. Paula was director of the National Archive of the Netherlands Antilles between 1969 and 1989. He also was a professor and rector at the University of the Netherlands Antilles in the 1990s.

Career

Paula was born on Curaçao on 2 May 1937.[1] He was partially schooled in Trinidad and Tobago.[2] Paula later studied in the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic and Italy, obtaining his doctorate degree “cum laude” at the Saint Thomas of Aquinas University in Rome, defending a thesis titled from Objective to Subjective Social Barriers.[3] After the 1969 Curaçao uprising Paula served on the Rebuilding commission and the investigationary commission. He served as chair of the latter commission but resigned after being threatened.[4]

Paula served as director of the National Archive of the Netherlands Antilles between 1969 and 1989.[5] Paula was a lecturer, and later professor, of sociology, philosophy and human rights at the University of the Netherlands Antilles from 1990 to 2000. In his last three years he served as rector magnificus.[5]

On 19 November 1993 a Curaçao status referendum was held. With the outcome in opposition to what she had campaigned for, Prime Minister Maria Liberia Peters resigned. She was succeeded by Suzanne Camelia-Römer. Paula was appointed as formateur by Governor of the Netherlands Antilles, Jaime Saleh. He managed to form a coalition. government which would rule until a government would be formed after the February 1994 general election.[6][7] Paula himself served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles. His government was sworn in on 28 December 1993.[8] He was succeeded when the government of Miguel Pourier was installed on 31 March 1994.[9]

Personal life

Paula married Monica Beddoe, a woman from Trinidad in 1966. The couple has two children.[4] In 2011 the Peter Stuyvesant College was renamed in Paula's honour.[5] Paula died on August 13, 2018, due to health complications.[10]

Current attention

In 2023 the Curaçao National Archaeological and Anthropological Memory Management started a rubric on their website titled Jandie Di, as part of their Cultural Heritage series. The aim is to republish fragments of his thought that are still relevant and might address current issues from angles that have not been engaged recently.[11]

Works

  • From objective to subjective social barriers: A historico-philosophical analysis of certain negative attitudes among the negroid population of Curaçao (1967)
  • Problemen rondom de emigratie van arbeiders uit de kolonie Curaçao naar Cuba (1973)
  • De slavenopstand op Curaçao; een bronnenstudie van de desbetreffende originele overheidsdocumenten (1974)
  • Slavery in a Nutshell (1987)
  • Hoofdmomenten uit de staatkundige ontwikkeling van de Nederlandse Antillen (1989)
  • Vrije slaven (1992)
  • 1795: De slavenopstand op Curaçao (1994)
  • The Cry of My Life: Bitterzoete herinneringen aan een levensweg vol kronkels (2005)
  • Pensamentunan djayera resonando den aktualidat (2012)
  • Resurekshon Un speransa nobo pa humanidat (2013)
  • Breve Historia di Kas Real Hulandes (2013)

References

  1. ^ "Alejandro "Jandie" Paula". Scribd. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  2. ^ Sharlon Monart (18 March 2011). "Nieuwe naam Peter Stuyvesant College bekend". Wereldomroep. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Alejandro "Jandie" Paula". Everand.
  4. ^ a b Gert Oostindie (1999). Curaçao, 30 mei 1969: verhalen over de revolte. Amsterdam University Press. pp. 94–. ISBN 978-90-5356-372-4.
  5. ^ a b c Leoni Leidel-Schenk (18 March 2011). "Alejandro Paula zeer vereerd" (in Dutch). Versgeperst.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  6. ^ Taylor & Francis Group (2004). The Europa World Year: Kazakhstan – Zimbabwe. Taylor & Francis. pp. 3099–. ISBN 978-1-85743-255-8.
  7. ^ Maria Liberia Peters (30 March 2011). "To set the record straight" (in Dutch). Antilliaans Dagblad. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Interim-kabinet op Antillen". NRC (in Dutch). NRC Handelsblad. 27 December 1993. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
  9. ^ Arthur S. Banks; Thomas C. Muller, eds. (1 February 2016). Political Handbook of the World 1998. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 660–. ISBN 978-1-349-14951-3.
  10. ^ "Jandi Paula overleden". Curacao.nu (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Serie Cultureel Erfgoed presenteerd: 'Jandie Di'". 2 October 2023.
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles
1993 — 1994 		Succeeded by
Miguel Arcangel Pourier