Suriname's Marciano Dasai is possibly the only government minister in the world who's also an architect. In this exclusive interview, he discusses the challenges facing the tiny rainforest nation.
Dasai has been Suriname's minister of spatial planning and environment since last year, having previously spent 20 years practising and teaching architecture.
"I was never into politics," he told Dezeen. "I never joined a political party."
"We're in the beginning stage of everything to do with buildings"
That changed in 2023, when the country's coalition government invited Dasai to take on the brief following the previous incumbent's resignation midway through the current parliamentary term.
"They were looking for a candidate, and I think they asked me because of my background," said Dasai. "One thing that attracted me to take this role is that Suriname is a developing country ? we're in the beginning stage of everything that has to do with buildings, with infrastructure."
"So knowing what problems there are in my sector and getting this opportunity to work on these issues, I said, 'okay let me take the challenge, even though it's a political function'."
The challenge he refers to is considerable. Suriname is South America's smallest sovereign state, with a population of around 630,000.
A former Dutch colony, its development has been stunted by several bouts of political turmoil since it gained independence in 1975.
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