M. Rizal Effendi is an Indonesian journalist and politician who served as the mayor of

Balikpapan Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 20 ...

East Kalimantan East Kalimantan (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo/Kalimantan. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the cu ...

for two terms between 2011 and 2021. A graduate of

Mulawarman University The Universitas Mulawarman is a public university located in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was established on September 27, 1962, making it the oldest tertiary education institution in East Kalimantan. With more than 35,000 students, U ...

, Effendi briefly served as a member of the

People's Consultative Assembly The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia (, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the members of a lower body, House of Representatives (DPR) and an upper body, Regional R ...

and headed a local newspaper before becoming a deputy mayor. Following his first term, he was elected the city's mayor in 2011 and again in 2016. He was also a vice governor candidate in the 2018 election, although he failed to win the seat.

Background

Rizal Effendi was born in

on 27 August 1958. He completed his education in the city of

Samarinda Samarinda is the capital city of the Provinces of Indonesia, Indonesian province of East Kalimantan on the island of Borneo. The city lies on the banks of the Mahakam River with a land area of . Samarinda was one of Indonesia's top ten City qu ...

, and earned his bachelor's degree in economics at

there in 1995. He is married to Yohana Palupi Arita, with three children.

Career

Journalism

During his time at university, Effendi was active in the campus newspaper. He entered journalism and eventually, after a one-year appointment at the

between 1994 and 1995, he became the head of the editorial board of ''Kaltim Pos'' in 1995, a position he held until 2006. He also became the deputy chair of the national journalist association. Effendi was also named chief executive officer of the local electrical company at Samarinda between 2003 and 2006.

Politics

In 2006, he ran as deputy mayor in the mayoral election for

, being the running mate of incumbent Imdaad Hamid. In 2011, Rizal run as mayor (with Hamid being barred by term limits) with Heru Bambang as his running mate. The pair won after securing 59.8 percent (127,807 votes), winning in all five subdistricts of the city. His program involved the development of an industrial zone in the city, meant to become a manufacturing hub for raw materials from the hinterlands of the city, in addition to developing coastal areas as a trade and services zone. He managed to secure a second term in the 2015 local elections, with his deputy changed to

Rahmad Mas'ud Rahmad Mas'ud (born 12 May 1976) is an Indonesian politician of the Golkar party and businessman who is the current mayor of Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, serving since 2021. He was previously the city's vice mayor between 2016 and 2021. Early lif ...

. In 2018, he ran in the province's gubernatorial election as running mate to Andi Sofyan Hasdam, although the pair lost. The pair placed last in the four-way race, winning 288,166 votes (21.32%). After his tenure as mayor ended, he joined the

Nasdem Party The NasDem Party () or the National Democratic Party () is a political party in Indonesia. It is partly funded by media baron Surya Paloh who founded the similarly named organization, National Democrats (). Despite this, and logo similarity, Nasi ...

and unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the national

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

representing

in the 2024 legislative election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Effendi, Rizal 1958 births 21st-century mayors of places in Indonesia People from Balikpapan Mayors and regents of places in East Kalimantan Living people Mulawarman University alumni