Andra Soni (; born 12 August 1976) is an Indonesian businessman and politician of the

Gerindra The Great Indonesia Movement Party (), better known as the Gerindra Party, is a nationalist, right-wing populist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the third-largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 86 s ...

party who is the governor of

Banten Banten (, , Pegon alphabet, Pegon: بنتن) is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang and its largest city is Tangerang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capi ...

since February 2025. He was previously a member of Banten's provincial legislature in 2014–2024 and its speaker in 2019–2024. He originated from

West Sumatra West Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. West Sumatra borders the Indian Ocean to the west, as well as the provinces of ...

, moving to

Tangerang Tangerang (Sundanese script, Sundanese: , ) is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of Banten, Indonesia. Located on the western border of Jakarta, it is the sixth largest city proper in ...

as a teen before eventually starting a logistics company.

Early life

Andra Soni was born to Zainal Abidin and Yasni on 12 August 1976 in Payakumbuh,

. Zainal was a farmer, but later moved to

Pekanbaru Pekanbaru is the capital city of the Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern side of Sumatra, Sumatra Island with its name derived from the Malay language, Malay (Indonesian language, Indonesian) word for 'new mar ...

to work in construction before illegally immigrating to

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

to work at palm oil plantations there. Soni completed his elementary school in Malaysia before returning to Indonesia to continue his education. He moved to Ciledug in

and lived with his brother, completing high school with financial support from his landlord (a son of Indonesia's first interior minister Wiranatakusumah V).

Career

After completing high school, he began working as a courier at a company while continuing his studies. He eventually became a manager in the company before starting his own logistics company Antaran Sukses Express. According to Soni, he joined

in 2013 while accompanying a friend who was registering as a legislative candidate. He then took part in the

2014 Indonesian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Indonesia on 9 April 2014 to elect 136 members of the Regional Representative Council (DPD), 560 members of the People's Representative Council (DPR) and members of regional assemblies at the provincial and rege ...

, and won a seat under Gerindra in the Banten Regional House of Representatives. He was reelected in the 2019 election, and was elected speaker of the legislature. He was reelected for a third term in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, but resigned before he was sworn in to run for governor of Banten. Within Gerindra, he had been chairman of the party's

branch before chairing its provincial Banten branch in 2023 after the death of its previous chair Desmond Junaidi Mahesa.

Governor

In 2024, Soni ran in Banten's gubernatorial election with Achmad Dimyati Natakusumah as his running mate. Among his campaign promises was an expansion of free education in the province, which would include non-public schools up to high school. Soni and Natakusumah won the election, defeating former South Tangerang mayor Airin Rachmi Diany with 3,102,501 votes (55.9%).

Personal life

Soni is married to Tinawati, and the couple has three children, all sons.

Honours

Lencana Darma Bakti (Badge of Darma Melati) * Pita_Harian_Lencana_Pancawarsa_I_-_Gerakan_Pramuka

Lencana Pancawarsa I (Badge of Pancawarsa I)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soni, Andra Living people 1976 births People from West Sumatra People from Tangerang Members of Provincial Regional Houses of Representatives in Indonesia Great Indonesia Movement Party politicians 21st-century Indonesian businesspeople