Gibran Rakabuming Raka

Gibran Rakabuming Raka (born 1 October 1987) is an Indonesian politician and businessman who has been 14th vice president of Indonesia since 2024. Previously the 18th mayor of Surakarta from 2021 to 2024, he is the eldest child of the seventh President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. He was the running mate of Prabowo Subianto in the 2024 Indonesian presidential election.

Gibran completed his first nine years of education in Surakarta, before moving to Singapore where he studied at Orchid Park Secondary School. Despite his relatively short time in office, Gibran's impact on Surakarta has been significant, leading to him being named the most popular mayor in 2021, according to the Indonesia Indicator.

Gibran's vice-presidential candidacy at age 36 has sparked controversy. The Constitutional Court, led by his uncle Anwar Usman, allowed him to run by making an exception for elected regional leaders. The General Elections Commission (KPU) faced ethics violations for letting Gibran register before adjusting the age requirement. Regardless, Prabowo and Gibran won the 2024 presidential election.

Early life and education

Gibran was born in Surakarta, Central Java, on 1 October 1987, as the eldest child and son of Joko Widodo and Iriana who have three children. Gibran completed his first nine years of education in Surakarta, before moving to Singapore where he studied at Orchid Park Secondary School. After graduating from secondary school, Gibran enrolled in UTS Insearch, the pathway program (preparatory cources) for foreign students who want to study at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia, but decided to move back to Singapore for his college undergraduate education. He obtained his diploma from the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) in 2010, with a degree BSc from the collaborated University of Bradford.

Business career

After a couple of years working for his family's furniture business, Gibran in 2010 founded ''Chilli Pari'', a catering business based in Surakarta. According to Gibran, he was inspired to set up the company after noticing the lack of a catering service for a conference center owned by his father. Jokowi, who intended for Gibran to inherit the leadership of his furniture business, initially opposed his eldest son's decision to become a caterer. However, the company grew and became focused on providing services for wedding parties.

Gibran then in 2015 started ''Markobar'', a martabak chain, which opened in 29 locations in Indonesia by 2017. Jokowi said in 2017 that though he did not initially approve of his son's food business, Gibran's company ended up being valued higher than his furniture company. Gibran's reported wealth, filed in 2020 as a prerequisite to run for office, was reported at Rp22.1 billion.

Early political career

Mayor of Surakarta

In July 2019, Gibran was named a favorite candidate for the 2020 Surakarta mayoral election, according to a survey by Slamet Riyadi University based in the city. The mayor of Surakarta was his father's position before becoming Governor of Jakarta and later President of Indonesia. Two months after the survey, Gibran registered as a member of PDI-P, his father's political party, to run in the mayoral election. PDI-P officially endorsed Gibran as their mayoral candidate in July 2020, pairing him with city council speaker Teguh Prakosa.

Realizing it would be futile to challenge Jokowi's influence in the race, all parties represented in the city council endorsed Gibran except the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), potentially creating an uncontested election. However, Bagyo Wahyono, a tailor by profession, registered as an independent candidate and was approved on 6 September 2020. In the election itself, Gibran won a landslide victory after winning 86.53 percent of votes (225,451 votes). Besides benefitting from his status as the son of the incumbent president and the city's most popular former mayor, Gibran's campaign spent nearly 30 times more compared to Bagyo's.

Despite his relatively short time in office, Gibran's impact on Surakarta has been significant, leading to him being named the most popular mayor in 2021, according to the Indonesia Indicator (I2). This recognition is attributed not only to his close relationship with his father, President Joko Widodo, but also to his proactive steps in addressing the impact of COVID-19 and promoting policies that garnered substantial media coverage.

In aftermath of his winning in 2024 election and being elected vice president, he resigned from his post as Mayor of Surakarta on 16 July 2024. Vice Mayor Prakosa was sworn in to replace him on 19 July.

Presidential candidacy

2024 general election

In late 2022, several Jokowi-supporting groups began to endorse Gibran as a vice-presidential candidate in the 2024 Indonesian presidential election. At the time of the endorsements, the criteria for becoming a vice-presidential candidate included being 40 years or older, while Gibran would be 37 at the time of the election. To enable Gibran to run, the Constitutional Court of Indonesia under the leadership of Gibran's uncle-in-law Anwar Usman on 17 October 2023 made a controversial ruling that added an exception to the minimum age for individuals who had been elected as regional leaders. Four days later, on 21 October 2023, the Golkar party which had been part of Prabowo Subianto's coalition declared Gibran as the party's vice-presidential candidate although he was still part of PDI-P.

Prabowo announced Gibran as his official running mate the following day. Gibran was absent during the announcement due to his mayoral work in Surakarta. He then sent a letter to his father, the president, the next day, to request permission. The General Elections Commission (KPU) leadership was found to have committed ethics violations surrounding Gibran's vice-presidential registration for allowing him to register his candidacy before the commission had adjusted the age minimum for candidates in its internal regulation. Prabowo however defended his decision to nominate Gibran, stating that his decision is part of a democratic decision making process within his coalition and told the media to "let the people decide". Gibran was also accused of dynastic politics, only for Prabowo to defend him again saying that he's the one who asked, choose and decide that Gibran is his running mate and asked what wrong is there if the family wished to serve their country. He then told Gibran to don't hesitate and be proud of his family heritage.

After the election which took place in February 14, Prabowo and Gibran took the lead in the quick counts with an average percentage of 57% compared to the Anies-Muhaimin ticket with an average of 27% and Ganjar-Mahfud ticket with an average of 16%. The percentage indicated that Prabowo and Gibran won the election in the first round.

Vice presidency (2024–present)

Inauguration

Gibran was sworn in as vice president on 20 October 2024. Gibran became the youngest person to assume Indonesian vice presidency at 37 years, 19 days of age.

During his vice presidency, Gibran advocated and initiated the creation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) studies into the Indonesian national school curriculum for SD (elementary), SMP (junior high), SMA (senior high), and SMK (vocational) studies. He shared this during a limited cabinet meeting with the Minister of Education, Abdul Mu'ti, and following engagements at Binus University, emphasizing the importance of equipping students with AI skills such as AI prompt making rather than premature coding instruction.

Impeachment debate

Gibran Rakabuming Raka has come under intense scrutiny following a formal petition from the Forum Purnawirawan Prajurit TNI. The letter, endorsed by former Indonesian Vice President Try Sutrisno and signed by 330 of the TNI's military officers, urged the DPR and MPR to initiate formal impeachment proceedings. This group argues that his vice-presidential appointment violated constitutional norms, specifically referencing a controversial Constitutional Court ruling that lowered the age requirement for candidates, a decision tied to political interference and later deemed unethical. They additionally question Gibran’s qualifications, pointing out his short two-year term as mayor of Surakarta and cite alleged online conduct via a pseudonymous account that posted derogatory content, which further raises ethical concerns. The petitioners, who have thrown their support behind President Prabowo Subianto, see their actions as part of a broader effort to safeguard constitutional integrity and curtail the influence of the Jokowi political legacy.

While the DPR has formally accepted this petition on 4 June 2025, no official motion has yet been initiated to hold a hearing—their acknowledgment stops short of action, pending any formal request via the Constitutional Court. Former President Jokowi, however, broke his usual reticence to say the move is part of a “normal, democratic process.” Meanwhile, influential parties in the ruling coalition, including Golkar and the MPR leadership, have publicly upheld Gibran’s legitimacy and cautioned against politicizing the impeachment mechanism in the absence of concrete legal violations.

Controversies

Vice-presidential candidacy

Gibran's vice-presidential candidacy has been deemed controversial due to his young age of 36. As the Constitutional Court under Anwar Usman's leadership has ruled that he can run for vice president through an exception for elected regional leaders, Gibran's eligibility for candidacy has been challenged repeatedly. The KPU was found to have committed ethics violations surrounding Gibran's vice-presidential registration for allowing him to register his candidacy before the commission had adjusted the age minimum for candidates in its internal regulation. A lawsuit was filed by the Indonesian Democracy Defenders (TPDI) and the Indonesian Advocates Movement (Perekat Nusantara) against Joko Widodo, Gibran Rakabuming, Anwar Usman and First Lady Iriana alleging nepotism and political dynasty on the part of the respondents, but was dismissed by the Jakarta State Administrative Court a day before the election. Due to the decision and Gibran's lack of political experience, he was referred as " nepo baby" by Al Jazeera.

Sulfuric acid gaffes

In one of his campaign activities on 3 December 2023, Gibran said that one of the solutions to stunting for pregnant mothers is to consume sulfuric acid instead of folic acid. The next day, Gibran also mispronounced and suggested drinking sulfuric acid when speaking during his visit to a Pesantren in Tangerang. He would later apologize and corrected himself on the next day. For his statements, he was ridiculed by rivaling supporters and even Anies Baswedan, who openly ridicule him by saying that pregnant mothers can just get it from a plant-based food and not in a workshop.

The misspelling incident made the public pin the nickname 'Samsul' to Gibran, where 'Samsul' itself is an acronym for sulfuric acid. At the Vice presidential candidate debate on 21 January 2024 at the Jakarta Convention Center, Gibran wore a blue jacket with the Naruto anime logo and the words 'Samsul' on the back. Arief Rosyid, Chairman of TKN Fanta Prabowo-Gibran election team backtracked and reclarified that the meaning of the words 'Samsul' written on the back of the jacket was instead an acronym for (). Arief also said that his team did not want to reply to the initial meaning intended to make a mockery of Gibran in a negative light.

Alleged ownership of former accounts

The controversy surrounding the "Fufufafa" account on the Kaskus platform emerged in August 2024, coinciding with the transitional period between the Joko Widodo-Ma’ruf Amin administration and the incoming Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka administration. The account, active between 2014 and 2019, was noted for stating suggestive comments of celebrities and issuing critical remarks against various political and non-political figures, including Prabowo Subianto, who had previously been a political rival of former President Joko Widodo in the 2014 and 2019 elections. Speculation spread across social media, suggesting that the account might be connected to Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Social media users attempted to link the account to Gibran through alleged connections to an email address associated with his catering business in Solo, Twitter profiles connected to the account, and a phone number reportedly tied to both a Gopay account and the Fufufafa account. Tempo reported that the same phone number associated with the account had previously been used by Tempo to contact Gibran before and during his tenure as Mayor of Solo. At the height of the controversy, hacktivist group, Anonymous, once leaked the account's personal detail pertaining the alleged connection of the account to Gibran. Gibran, however, firmly denied these allegations, stating, "I don't know, why are you asking me? Ask the owner." The Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Budi Arie Setiadi, also stated that there is no evidence linking Gibran to the account. Despite these denials, the controversy continued to attract public attention, causing concern of polarization among netizens and raising concerns about Gibran’s public image and his capabilities as Vice President.

Personal life

On 11 June 2015, Gibran married Selvi Ananda, the winner of the 2009 Puteri Solo (Miss Solo) beauty pageant. They met when Gibran served as a member of the jury in the competition. The couple's first child, a son named Jan Ethes Srinarendra, was born on 10 March 2016. On 15 November 2019, Gibran's wife gave birth to a daughter at the Muhammadiyah Hospital in Surakarta. She was named La Lembah Manah.

Gibran is a fan of FC Barcelona and admitted that he is a long time fan of the club. During his campaign for mayor in August 2020, he wore the club's jersey during an online exercise session with his supporters. Gibran's favorite anime series are '' Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba'' and ''The Adventures of Tintin'', but he often uses ''Naruto'' in his appearance to the media.

Honours

As the vice president of Indonesia, Gibran is automatically bestowed the highest class of six out of seven civilian Star Decorations (), namely:
* Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 2nd Class (; 20 October 2024)
* Star of Mahaputera, 1st Class (; 20 October 2024)
* Star of Service, 1st Class (; 20 October 2024)
* Star of Humanity (; 20 October 2024)
* Star of Democracy Upholder, 1st Class (; 20 October 2024)
* Star of Culture Parama Dharma (; 20 October 2024)
* Star of Bhayangkara, 1st Class (; 20 October 2024)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raka Rakabuming, Gibran
1987 births
21st-century Indonesian businesspeople
21st-century Indonesian politicians
21st-century mayors of places in Indonesia
Alumni of the University of Bradford
Children of presidents of Indonesia
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle politicians
Indonesian expatriates in Singapore
Indonesian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Javanese people
Joko Widodo family
Living people
Mayors of Surakarta
People from Surakarta
Vice presidents of Indonesia