A New Leader at the Organization of American States: Suriname’s Albert Ramdin

Albert Ramchand Ramdin, 67, has had a long diplomatic career, both as an ambassador and foreign minister (2020–present) for his country, Suriname, and within the OAS and other regional organizations. In addition to his native Dutch, he speaks English and Spanish. He utilized all three languages in his acceptance speech on March 10. 

After serving as Suriname’s permanent representative to the OAS from 1997 to 1999, he went on to serve as principal advisor to OAS Secretary General César Gaviria from 2001 to 2004 and then as assistant secretary general during the two terms of José Miguel Insulza (2005–2015). His previous tenure at the OAS focused on advancing the agenda of small states and the Caribbean region. He also coordinated the OAS’s activities supporting democracy, peace, and development in Haiti as chairman of the Group of Friends of Haiti.

Before returning to public service in 2020, he was a senior director of external relations for the Suriname office of multinational mining company Newmont. During his time as Suriname’s top diplomat, he also served as chairman of the Caribbean Development and Cooperation Council of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC, 2022–2024) and of the executive council of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS, 2023–2024).

Ramdin was the sole candidate in the race to lead the OAS after the other candidate, Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Dario Ramírez Lezcano, withdrew in a diplomatic note dated March 5, just five days before the election was scheduled. The note came just a day after the governments of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay put out a joint communiqué announcing their support for Ramdin. The governments of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador followed, and announced their support in a joint statement published on March 5. These eight votes, added to those of the 14 CARICOM member states of the OAS that sponsored Ramdin’s candidacy, secured at least four more than the 18 needed for a majority in the General Assembly. No government publicized their support for Ramírez Lezcano before he dropped out, but he was viewed as an ally of the United States.

In the run-up to the election, Ramdin faced accusations that his victory would mean a greater role for China within the OAS due to his country’s diplomatic and economic ties with Beijing, one of 75 permanent observers at the OAS. This ostensibly put his candidacy at loggerheads with the United States, which was thought to be supporting Ramírez Lezcano of Paraguay, one of the few countries in the region that maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan. However, shortly before the election, President Trump’s special envoy to Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, dismissed the accusations, describing Suriname as “a pro-American country that’s on the right path economically, that’s growing, that’s bringing in foreign investments that’s non-Chinese,” and noting the “historic” opportunity for a CARICOM national to lead the OAS.

The election of the assistant secretary general will be held on May 5. 

In his campaign, Ramdin highlighted the fact that he comes from a country geographically located in South America that also belongs to CARICOM as an indicator of his ability to bridge sub-regional differences. In an interview with the Miami Herald, he said that he viewed the role of secretary general as “a CEO,” there “to build consensus [and] get the operations running” but allowing member states to lead on determining policy and goals. In their joint communiqué, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay framed their support for Ramdin as “a significant step towards regional unity in the current geopolitical context.” 

A central element of Ramdin’s pitch to OAS member states was his openness to engage in dialogue with all of the organization, including Venezuela. Throughout his campaign, he emphasized that collaboration was necessary for addressing cross-border issues such as migration management, transnational organized crime and climate change, and advocated for greater coordination not just among members but also among the various regional and sub-regional organizations in the Americas. 

"Let's join hands and mobilize our capabilities," he said, asking countries to actively respond to climate change, and calling for the OAS to have a more active role in resolving crises, like the one in Haiti, to elevate the organization’s relevance in the hemisphere.