BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HER EXCELLENCY MANORMA P. SOEKNANDAN, AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF SURINAME TO THE CO-OPERATIVE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA AND THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM)

Ambassador Soeknandan presented her Credentials to the Secretary-General of CARICOM , today, 24 January 2002, at the Georgetown-based Headquarters of the Secretariat.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Her Excellency Manorma P. Soeknandan, Ambassador of the Republic of Suriname to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the Caribbean Community is a lawyer by profession.

Born in Paramaribo, she graduated from Anton de Kom University of Suriname in 1989 with her law degree and also completed a study on the Legislative Process in Suriname as part of her requirements. Ambassador Soeknandan is also a trained teacher and has a working knowledge of both English and Spanish.

Throughout her working career she has served the Government of Suriname, beginning in the Department of Legislation and Legal Advice of the Ministry of Justice and Police with special responsibility for policy analysis and the drafting of laws and regulations. Her Excellency became head of the Judicial Department in 1995 and, following Suriname's accession to the Caribbean Community that year, represented her country on the Inter-Governmental Task Force which drafted the Protocols Amending the Treaty of Chaguaramas and the Charter of Civil Society. Ambassador Soeknandan has also represented Suriname on the Legal Affairs Committee of CARICOM.

She has continued her academic career through teaching at the Advanced Teachers Institute and as visiting Professor in International Law at the University of Suriname and since 1999 has been the Surinamese representative on the Working Group on Legal Education in the Caribbean.