Muzakir Manaf (born 3 April 1964), known as Mualem, is an Indonesian politician and former

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 ...

(GAM) guerilla fighter who served as the vice governor of Aceh between 2012 and 2017. Leading the movement's guerilla wing following the death of his predecessor, he was its leader at the end of the conflict and later founded the

Aceh Party The Aceh Party (, , PA) is a regional political party in Indonesia. It contested the 2009 elections in the province of Aceh, and is the largest party in the Aceh provincial legislature. It currently controls the governorship. Aceh Party is led by ...

, becoming its first and current chairman.

Career

GAM

Manaf stated that when he graduated from high school, he signed up to join the

Indonesian National Armed Forces The Indonesian National Armed Forces (; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Indonesian Army, Army (''TNI-AD''), Indonesian Navy, Navy (''TNI-AL''), and Indonesian Air Force, Air Force ('' ...

, but failed and instead went 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 sign up as a GAM fighter, this time passing. In 1986, Manaf left for

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, where he received combat training with other GAM members. Following the death of GAM commander Abdullah Syafi'i in 2002 during combat with

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...

soldiers, Muzakir Manaf became the commander of GAM's central command. Following the Helsinki agreement, Manaf went out of hiding and entered public view for the first time, and began serving as the chairman of the Aceh Transition Committee (). Later on, he was one of the co-founders of the Self-Sufficient Aceh Movement Party ( or ''Partai GAM'', later renamed to just

following complaints from the central government) and became its first chairman.

Provincial government

In Aceh's 2012 gubernatorial election, Manaf ran as the running mate of fellow GAM member Zaini Abdullah and the pair won the election, with Manaf being sworn in as Vice Governor on 4 June 2012. Manaf was still popular with former GAM combatants even after his election. In one occasion, militant leader Din Minimi, who led an armed group in East Aceh, refused to be brought to

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

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 ...

unless Manaf was to meet him first. He ran again in the 2017 gubernatorial election, this time as a gubernatorial candidate. However, he was defeated by former governor Irwandi Yusuf. Initially, though, Manaf's campaign team also claimed victory and refused to accept the results.

2024 elections

On 26 December 2023, Manaf declared his support for

Prabowo Subianto Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star Indonesian Army, army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously t ...

and

Gibran Rakabuming Raka Gibran Rakabuming Raka (born 1 October 1987) is an Indonesian politician and businessman who has been 14th Vice President of Indonesia, vice president of Indonesia since 2024. Previously the 18th mayor of Surakarta from 2021 to 2024, he is the e ...

for president and vice president despite the opposing background of the two. He then ran in the

2024 Aceh gubernatorial election The 2024 Acehnese gubernatorial election was held on 27 November 2024 as part of 2024 Indonesian local elections, nationwide local elections to elect the List of governors of Aceh, governor of Aceh for a five-year term. The previous election was ...

, defeating , and was sworn in as governor on 12 February 2025.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manaf, Muzakir 1964 births Living people Politicians from Aceh Free Aceh Movement members Governors of Aceh Vice governors of Indonesian provinces