Nova Iriansyah (born 22 November 1963) is an Indonesian architect and politician who has served as the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...

, Indonesia since 2020, although he had served as acting governor since 2018. Before becoming governor, he was deputy governor in 2017–2018, and served in 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 ...

between 2009 and 2014.

Early life and education

Iriansyah was born 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 ...

on 22 November 1963. Initially, he studied at Banda Aceh, before his family moved to

Takengon Takengon is a town in Aceh, Indonesia. The town itself sits on three administrative districts of the Central Aceh Regency—Bebesen, Kebayakan, and Lut Tawar, and acts as the seat of Central Aceh Regency. The town is in the highlands of western Su ...

for a time. During his elementary school at Takengon, Iriansyah was expelled from school, and had to move to another school in the town. His middle and high school studies were in Banda Aceh. He then studied

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

at university, graduating with a bachelor's degree from the

Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (; abbreviated as ITS) is a national public research university located in Surabaya, East Java, with a strong emphasis on scientific, engineering, and vocational education system. Located on 180-hectares g ...

in 1988 and later obtaining a master's degree 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 ...

in 1998.

Career

After graduating, he taught architecture at

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 ...

, and became department head between 2004 and 2006 until he resigned to take part in politics as he was elected the provincial chairman of the Democratic Party. At the time of his resignation, he had taught architecture for 19 years, his academic career preceding Syiah Kuala's department of architecture which was formed in 1997. Aside from lecturing, Iriansyah also formed an architecture consultancy to supplement his low salary. Between 2004 and 2008, he became head of the provincial branch of Institute of Development of Construction Services, which managed construction companies and contractors in the period of reconstruction after the

2004 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 scient ...

. Following the 2009 election, Iriansyah was elected as a member of the

as a member of the Democratic Party, representing Aceh's 1st electoral district. He ran as Muhammad Nazar's running mate in the

2012 Acehnese gubernatorial election An election was held on 9 April 2012 for the governorship and deputy-governorship of Aceh. Incumbent governor Irwandi Yusuf ran as an independent, while former exile and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) activist Zaini Abdullah competed for the governors ...

, but was not elected. Iriansyah ran again as

Irwandi Yusuf Irwandi Yusuf (born 2 August 1960) is an Indonesian politician who was the governor of Aceh. He was re-elected Governor in early 2017 after serving an earlier term between 2006 and 2012. Irwandi first won a term as governor in the 2006 Aceh r ...

's running mate in the 2017 Aceh gubernatorial election and was elected, becoming vice governor on 5 July 2017. As Irwandi Yusuf was involved in a corruption case, he was removed from office and Nova was made acting governor on 9 July 2018. He was formally elevated to governor on 5 November 2020.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iriansyah, Nova Living people 1963 births Governors of Aceh People from Banda Aceh Members of the House of Representatives (Indonesia), 2009 Democratic Party (Indonesia) politicians Bandung Institute of Technology alumni Indonesian architects Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology alumni Academic staff of Syiah Kuala University