Rohidin Mersyah (born 9 January 1970) is an Indonesian politician who has served as governor of

Bengkulu Bengkulu (), historically known as Bencoolen, is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southwest coast of Sumatra. It was formed on 18 November 1968 by separating out the area of the historic Bencoolen Residency from the province of ...

from December 2018 to November 2024.

Early life

Mersyah was born in the village of Gelumbang, in

Manna Manna (, ; ), sometimes or archaically spelled Mahna or Mana, is described in the Bible and the Quran as an edible substance that God in Abrahamic religions, God bestowed upon the Israelites while they were wandering the desert during the 40-year ...

, South Bengkulu, on 9 January 1970 as the fifth child of nine. He completed his basic education in South Bengkulu, before studying

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, medical diagnosis, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all a ...

Gadjah Mada University Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a public research university located in Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Gadjah Mada University is one of the oldest and largest institut ...

Career

In 2010, Mersyah ran as a vice-regent candidate for the

South Bengkulu Regency South Bengkulu () is a regency of Bengkulu Province, Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra. It originally comprised all of that part of Bengkulu Province situated to the southeast of the city of Bengkulu, but on 25 February 2003 this area was split ...

. Initially, him and the regent candidate Reskan Effendi lost the election with just 48.06% of votes, but following a lawsuit to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

their opponent was disqualified as he had previously been jailed for murder and was hence ineligible as a candidate. He ran as a deputy gubernatorial candidate in the 2015 election, and won the election. Bengkulu's governor following the election, Ridwan Mukti, was arrested by the

Corruption Eradication Commission The Corruption Eradication Commission (), abbreviated as KPK, is an Indonesian government agency established to prevent and fight corruption in the country. History Background Anti-corruption efforts began in Indonesia in the 1950s. Followin ...

in June 2017 due to alleged bribery. Mersyah was sworn in as full governor on 10 December 2018. He was reelected as governor following the 2020 gubernatorial election. On 23 November 2024, during his reelection bid in the 2024 gubernatorial election, Mersyah was arrested by the

on charges of demanding money from civil servants to fund his campaign. Mersyah would lose the election to Bengkulu city mayor and 2020 gubernatorial candidate

Helmi Hasan Helmi Hasan (born 29 November 1979) is an Indonesian politician from the National Mandate Party who is the governor of Bengkulu province, serving since February 2025. He had previously served as the mayor of the city of Bengkulu between 2013 and 2 ...

Honours

Satyalancana Karya Satya (10 Years) and (20 Years) * Satyalancana Wira Karya rib

Satyalancana Wira Karya - 2021 * Lencana Melati - Gerakan Pramuka

Lencana Melati - 2019 * Lencana Darma Bakti - Gerakan Pramuka

Lencana Darma Bakti - 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mersyah, Rohidin Living people 1970 births Golkar politicians People from Bengkulu Mayors and regents of places in Bengkulu Governors of Bengkulu Gadjah Mada University alumni