Amir Syamsuddin (born 27 May 1941) is Indonesia's former Minister of Justice and Human Rights.

Biography

Amir was born in

Makassar Makassar ( ), formerly Ujung Pandang ( ), is the capital of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...

, on 27 May 1941 to Andi Bulaeng Dg Nipati. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in law from the

University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia (UI; ) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dutch East Indies when UI was established) ...

in 1983, earned a doctorate from the same university. In 1983, Amir founded Amir Syamsuddin Law Offices and Partners. He later founded Acemark, an intellectual property firm. In 2003, Amir represented former

Golkar The Party of Functional Groups (), often known by its abbreviation Golkar, is a Centre politics, centre to Centre-right politics, centre-right big tent secular nationalist political parties in Indonesia, political party in Indonesia. Founded in ...

chairman and Speaker of the

People's Representative Council The House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (, DPR-RI or simply DPR) is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the national legislature of Indonesia. It is considered the lower house, while th ...

Akbar Tanjung Djandji Akbar Zahiruddin Tandjung (born 14 August 1945) is an Indonesian politician who served as the Speaker of the People's Representative Council from 1999 until 2004. A member of the Golkar party, he also served as the party's chairman from ...

when he was charged with corruption. Tanjung was eventually acquitted by the

Supreme Court of Indonesia The Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia () is the independent judicial arm of the state. It maintains a system of courts and sits above the other courts and is the final court of appeal. It can also re-examine cases if new evidence emerg ...

. He also represented the magazine ''

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

'' when it was sued by

Probosutedjo Probosutedjo (1 May 1930 – 26 March 2018) was a businessman and the younger half-brother of former Indonesian president Suharto. Like many Indonesians, he took only one name. Probosutedjo was one of seven children from his mother's second marria ...

. By 2011 Amir was serving as secretary of the Democratic Party's ethics council. On 19 October 2011, Amir, then serving on the board of advisers to the Democratic Party, was selected as Minister of Justice and Human Rights of Indonesia, ceasing his legal practice. He replaced Patrialis Akbar amidst rumours of corruption in the justice system; Patrialis welcomed the appointment. Following his appointment, Amir stated that he intended to end the practice of giving convicted corruptors and terrorists cuts to their sentences.

Reception

Teten Masduki of Transparency International Indonesia welcomed Amir's appointment, saying that he had "made a good first impression"; however, Masduki cautioned that Syamsuddin would have to follow through on his promises. ''

The Jakarta Post ''The Jakarta Post'' is a daily English-language newspaper in Indonesia. The paper is owned by PT Bina Media Tenggara and based in the nation's capital, Jakarta. ''The Jakarta Post'' started as a collaboration between four Indonesian media ...

'' reported the former Justice and Human Rights Minister

Yusril Ihza Mahendra Yusril Ihza Mahendra (born 5 February 1956) is an Indonesian lawyer, politician and academic, who served as the leader of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) from 2015 to 2024. Previously, he served as the leader of the PBB from 1998 until 2005, Mini ...

as "warning" that ending sentence cuts for corruptors and terrorists "might violate human rights and the principle of equal treatment for prisoners".

Personal life

Amir has seven children. He has cited lawyer Suardi Tasrif as an inspiration towards becoming a lawyer.

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Syamsuddin, Amir Living people Indonesian Muslims Bugis people People from Makassar Indonesian people of Chinese descent 1941 births Democratic Party (Indonesia) politicians 20th-century Indonesian lawyers Ministers of law and human rights of Indonesia 21st-century Indonesian lawyers