Fredis Refunjol

Fredis Jose Refunjol (born 19 December 1950) is an Aruban politician and who served as the 3rd governor of Aruba from 2004 to 2016. Originally a teacher, he has served as a government official for the past twenty years, starting as a member of the Parliament of Aruba.

Fredis Refunjol
3rd Governor of Aruba
In office
11 August 2004 – 31 December 2016
MonarchsBeatrix
Willem-Alexander
Prime MinisterNelson Oduber
Mike Eman
Preceded byOlindo Koolman
Succeeded byAlfonso Boekhoudt
Minister of Education & Administrative Affairs
In office
3 October 2001 – 11 August 2004
Succeeded byFrido Croes
Minister of Welfare
In office
12 January 1986 – 7 November 1989
Member of Parliament
In office
12 January 1986 – 7 November 1989
In office
29 July 1994 – 3 October 2001
Personal details
Born
Fredis Jose Refunjol

(1950-12-19) 19 December 1950
Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
Political partyPeople's Electoral Movement (1983–2004)
SpouseClarette Lopez
Children3
Politics of Aruba

Early life

Fredis Jose Refunjol was born in Aruba, in the Netherlands Antilles, on 19 December 1950.[1]

Refunjol obtained his Junior High School (mulo) diploma in 1968 and his college (havo) diploma in 1970. Three years later, in 1973, he graduated from the Aruba Teacher-Training Academy and was certified as a teacher.[1]

Upon graduation, he secured employment at the Heilige Hart College in Savaneta as a teacher. He taught there for eight years before becoming principal in 1981.[1]

Career

Refunjol joined the People's Electoral Movement (MEP) in 1983. The next year he became the party's vice president, holding that position until 1987, when he was named as the party Secretary General (effective 1988).[1]

While serving as party vice president, he stood as a candidate in Aruba's first parliamentary elections in 1986, where he was elected to the Parliament of Aruba.[1]

In 1989, he was the informateur during both the formation of the first cabinet of Prime Minister Oduber (Oduber I) and that of the second cabinet (Oduber II) formed in 1993. After the first cabinet was formed, he was named Minister of Welfare, serving until the MEP lost the 1994 Aruban general election.[1]

Following his party's defeat in the 1994 election, Refunjol became a member of the Parliament of Aruba once more.[1]

After seven years in the opposition, the MEP won the 2001 general election, after which Refunjol served as formateur for the third Oduber cabinet (Oduber III), and consequently became its Minister of Education and Administrative Affairs, in addition to becoming Vice Prime Minister.[1]

In 2004, the term of Governor Olindo Koolman expired; restricted by term limits, he was not reappointed by the Queen. Due to the extent of his government experience, Refunjol was appointed by royal decree as Koolman's successor, assuming the office of governor on 1 May 2004.[1] During his nomination proceedings, he enjoyed the unanimous support of the parliament for his candidacy. As a result of the apolitical nature of his office, he was required to tender his resignation from both the parliament and his party, immediately upon taking office and was barred from politics until his service as governor was complete.

Awards

On 8 December 2016, Refunjol was promoted to Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau.[2]

Personal life

He is married to Clarette Maria de Lourdes Refunjol-Lopez. Together they have two daughters (Cheryl and Zanette) and one son (Fredis).[1]

See also

References
  1. Refunjol, Fredis. Curriculum Vitae Archived 2012-02-24 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 16 June 2009.
  2. "Gouverneur Refunjol bevorderd tot Commandeur in de Orde van Oranje-Nassau" (in Dutch). Rijksoverheid. 8 December 2016. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
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