Suriname’s three-time former president Ronald Venetiaan, a key architect in the development of the small Dutch-speaking South American country, died on Wednesday, November 5, at the age of 89, his family said. The former math teacher was first elected president in 1991 and later won re-election in 2000 and 2005. He served 15 years in total as leader of the country of around 600,000 inhabitants.

“He was a statesman and a great son of the nation, who dedicated his life to serving Suriname,” President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons said. She highlighted his “significant role in the country’s development” and “commitment to education, democracy, and good governance.” Former president Chan Santokhi, who served as Venetiaan’s justice minister, called him an “exceptional stateman” whose death left “a great void.”

Venetiaan was born in Suriname’s capital Paramaribo in 1936 under Dutch rule. After completing his studies in the Netherlands, he returned home to become a teacher and then minister of education after independence in 1975.

He was thrown out of the job in a 1980 coup led by late military dictator Dési Bouterse. After democracy was restored in 1987, Venetiaan returned to the education ministry before becoming president. A diverse country made up of descendants of people from India, Indonesia, China, the Netherlands, Indigenous groups and African slaves, Suriname marks its 50^th anniversary of independence from the Dutch throne on November 25.