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Ajamu Baly: Governor of Sint Maarten since 2022

A profile of Ajamu Baly, the Sint Maarten-born lawyer appointed Governor of Sint Maarten by Royal Decree in 2022, who took office on 10 October 2022.

By SXM Daily · October 22, 2026

Ajamu Baly is the Governor of Sint Maarten, the King's representative in the country and the head of its government. He was appointed by Royal Decree of 15 September 2022, sworn in by King Willem-Alexander on 4 October 2022, and has been in office since 10 October 2022. He succeeded Eugene Holiday.

Photo: Cabinet of the Governor

Background

Baly was born on Sint Maarten in 1977, according to the Royal House of the Netherlands, and the Governor's office gives his birthday as 15 August. He attended Sister Borgia primary school and Milton Peters College on the island, then studied law at the University of Amsterdam, where he earned a Master of Laws.

Legal and public career

According to the Governor's office, Baly worked as a lawyer at an investment bank in the Netherlands and later at the Judicial Affairs Department of Sint Maarten's Ministry of Justice. From early 2012 he sat on the Student Finance Appeals Committee, later as its chair. In January 2014 he became Secretary-Director of the Advisory Council (Raad van Advies). He joined the board of the Stichting Justitiële Inrichtingen Sint Maarten in 2015 and the supervisory board of the Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten in August 2017. From February 2022 until his appointment he was a deputy examining magistrate at the Joint Court of Justice, the Royal House noted.

Appointment as Governor

He was appointed on the advice of Sint Maarten's Council of Ministers, with the approval of the Kingdom Council of Ministers. On 4 October 2022 the King received him at Huis ten Bosch, where he was sworn in, and he took office on 10 October 2022, formally starting at a solemn meeting of Parliament.

As Governor

As Governor, Baly swore in Prime Minister Luc Mercelina's first Council of Ministers on 3 May 2024 and the second Mercelina cabinet on 26 November 2024, according to the Government of Sint Maarten and Dossier Koninkrijksrelaties.

Sources

• https://www.governorsintmaarten.com/governor-of-sint-maarten/governor-baly
• https://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/actueel/nieuws/2022/10/04/koning-ontvangt-gouverneur-sint-maarten-ter-beediging
• https://www.sintmaartengov.org/news/pages/New-Council-of-Ministers-appointed-and-sworn-in.aspx
• https://dossierkoninkrijksrelaties.nl/2024/11/26/kabinet-mercelina-ii-ingezworen/

Source: https://www.governorsintmaarten.com/governor-of-sint-maarten/governor-baly