Hajji Hajji (; sometimes spelled Hajjeh, Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. Etymology ''Hajji'' is derived from the Arabic ' (), which i ...

Azwar Abubakar (born 21 June 1952 in

Banda Aceh Banda Aceh (; , Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of 35 metres. The city covers an area of and had a population of 223,446 peopl ...

) is an Indonesian politician who served as Minister of State Apparatus Utilization and Bureaucratic Reform from 2011 to 2014. Previously, he served as Acting

Governor of Aceh Below is a list of governors of Aceh, one of the provinces of Indonesia, from Indonesian independence to the present day. List of governors * = Acting governor, in place until a full governor was formerly appointed Note References {{ ...

from 2004 to 2005 and Vice Governor of Aceh from 2000 to 2004.

Biography

Abubakar was born in

, Indonesia on 21 June 1952. He received a bachelor's degree in architecture from the

Bandung Institute of Technology The Bandung Institute of Technology (; , abbreviated as ITB) is a public research university located in Bandung, Indonesia. It has produced many notable leaders in science, engineering, politics, business, academia, and culture. ITB is one of th ...

, later receiving a master's degree in management from

Syiah Kuala University Syiah Kuala University (), abbreviated as USK (formerly: ''Unsyiah''), founded on 2 September 1961, is the largest and the oldest national university in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The name of the university is taken from the prominent theologian, Ten ...

in Aceh. After graduation, he began working as a consultant and entrepreneur. After the resignation of President Suharto in 1998, he became active in politics, co-founding the Aceh branch of the

National Mandate Party The National Mandate Party (), frequently abbreviated to PAN, is a non-sectarian, religion-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho (2017). ''Moving towards a Normalised Path: Political Islam in Contemporary Indonesia''. Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan (Journal of Governme ...

. From 2000 to 2004, Abubakar served as the deputy governor of Aceh, later becoming the acting governor from 2004 to 2005 after Governor Abdullah Puteh was convicted of corruption. As acting governor he handled the aftermath of the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the sci ...

, with the amount of civil servants at first thought to have been reduced by almost two-thirds. He also had to deal with the

Free Aceh Movement The Free Aceh Movement (, GAM; ) was a separatism, separatist group seeking independence for the Aceh region of Sumatra, Indonesia. GAM fought against Indonesian government forces in the Insurgency in Aceh, Aceh insurgency from 1976 to 2005. E ...

. He ran for governor in 2006 with

Prosperous Justice Party The Prosperous Justice Party (, sometimes called the Justice and Prosperity Party, Indonesian name literally translated "Party of Secure/Peaceful Justice"), frequently abbreviated to PKS, and formerly the Justice Party (, PK), is an Islamism, Isl ...

member Nasir Djamil as his deputy, but lost to Irwandi Yusuf. Abubakar was elected to 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 ...

in 2009, representing Aceh. He became a member of Commission I, which oversees defence and foreign affairs. On 19 October 2011, Abubakar replaced EE Mangindaan as the Administrative Reform Minister of Indonesia.

Reception

Djamil viewed Abubakar's appointment as a way for President

Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to as SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired Indonesian Army, army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014 and the second president of Ind ...

to strengthen his support in Aceh and from the National Mandate Party. Abubakar's appointment as minister was met warmly in Aceh, with several prominent Acehnese calling him "the best son of Aceh".

Personal life

Abubakar is married to Mutia Safrila, and together they have four children. According to the Report on Material Wealth of State Figures (''Laporan Harta Kekayaan Penyelenggara Negara'') published in February 2011, Abubakar has a net worth of over Rp 1.2 billion (US$150,000), the lowest of the six ministers appointed in October 2011.

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abubakar, Azwar Living people 1952 births Governors of Aceh National Mandate Party politicians Acehnese people People from Banda Aceh Government ministers of Indonesia Indonesian Muslims Politics of Aceh Politicians from Aceh Bandung Institute of Technology alumni Syiah Kuala University alumni