John Wempi Wetipo (born 15 September 1972) is an Indonesian politician from Papua. He is currently serving as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, being appointed in 2022. Previously he served as Deputy Minister of Public Works and Housing from 2019 until 2022 and as the Regent of

Jayawijaya Regency Jayawijaya Regency is one of the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, regencies (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua. It occupies an area of 13,925.31 km2 in the Baliem Valley, situated in the central highlands o ...

for two terms between 2008 and 2018. He participated in the

2018 Papua gubernatorial election The 2018 Papua gubernatorial election took place in Papua, Indonesia on 27 June 2018 as part of the simultaneous local elections. It was held to elect the governor of Papua along with their deputy, whilst members of the provincial council (''D ...

, but lost to incumbent

Lukas Enembe Lukas Enembe (27 July 1967 – 26 December 2023) was an Indonesian politician from Western New Guinea, West Papua, who served as the 13th Governor of Papua (province), Papua Province from April 2013 to January 2023. He had previously served as R ...

Background

He was born on 15 September 1972 in the ''kampung'' of Hulekaima in the Maima district of

. Coming from the Dani tribe, he is the only son of Habel Wetipo and did his basic education in missionary schools. Later, he moved to

Jayapura Jayapura (formerly Hollandia (1910-1962), Kota Baru (1962-1963), Soekarnopura (1963-1968)) is the capital city, capital and List of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of Papua (provi ...

for his highschool. After completing basic education, he studied for 3 years in

Manado Manado (, ) is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 census giving a population of 451,916,Badan ...

's Tourism Academy. Later, he graduated from a bachelor's and a master's program at

Cenderawasih University Cenderawasih University () is a university in Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia. The university is the leading educational institution in the province. The university has faculties in economics, law, teacher training and education, medical, ...

Career

Wetipo began working as a civil servant in 1996, and later became the head of the tourism agency for the regency. He later participated in the regency's first direct election in 2008 and won, being sworn in on 24 December 2008. As regent, Wetipo initiated the

Baliem Valley The Baliem Valley (; also spelled Balim and sometimes known as the Grand Valley) is a valley of the Central Highlands in Western New Guinea, specifically in the province of Highland Papua, Indonesia. The main town in the valley is Wamena, which ...

Cultural Festival, intended to draw tourists to the otherwise remote regency. He received an award from 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 ...

for wealth reporting and from the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

for financial management in Jayawijaya. He was reelected in 2013 with over 91 percent of the votes. In 2018, Wetipo ran for the governorship of Papua. During the proceedings, he was accused of falsifying his degree, but the KPU rejected the suit. He would lose to incumbent

, securing only 32.5 percent of the votes. After the results were announced, Wetipo went 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 ...

, but his case was rejected. Wetipo was appointed as the Deputy Minister for Public Works of Housing under the

Onward Indonesia Cabinet The Onward Indonesia Cabinet () was sworn in on 23 October 2019 by President Joko Widodo. The president reshuffled this cabinet 13 times. The last reshuffle occurred on 11 September 2024. Lineup Heads of the cabinet Coordinating ministers ...

Joko Widodo Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic ...

's second term. On Joko Widodo's 4th ministerial reshuffle, Wetipo is reappointed as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs on 15 June 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetipo, John Wempi 1972 births Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle politicians Living people Mayors and regents of places in Papua (province) Cenderawasih University alumni Onward Indonesia Cabinet Papuan people