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Akbar Tandjung
Official portrait, 1999
13th Speaker of the House of Representatives
In office 6 October 1999 – 30 September 2004
Preceded by	Harmoko
Succeeded by	Agung Laksono
7th General Chairman of the Golkar Party
In office 11 July 1998 – 19 December 2004
Preceded by	Harmoko
Succeeded by	Jusuf Kalla
Member of House of Representatives
In office 1 October 1999 – 1 October 2004
In office 1 October 1977 – 21 March 1988
Ministerial offices 7th Minister of the State Secretariat In office 23 May 1998 – 20 October 1999 President B. J. Habibie Preceded by Saadilah Mursyid Succeeded by Muladi (acting) 3rd Minister of Public Housing In office 17 March 1993 – 21 May 1998 President Suharto Preceded by Siswono Yudo Husodo Succeeded by Theo L. Sambuaga 5th Minister of Youth and Sports In office 21 March 1988 – 17 March 1993 President Suharto Preceded by Abdul Gafur Succeeded by Hayono Isman
Personal details
Born	Djandji Akbar Zahiruddin Tandjung (1945-08-14) 14 August 1945 (age 79) Sorkam, Central Tapanuli, Japanese East Indies
Political party	Golkar
Spouse	Krisnina Maharani ​(m. 1960)​
Alma mater	University of Indonesia Gadjah Mada University
Occupation	Politician legislator

Djandji Akbar Zahiruddin Tandjung (born 14 August 1945) is an Indonesian politician who served as the Speaker of the People's Representative Council from 1999 until 2004. A member of the Golkar party, he also served as the party's chairman from 1999 until 2004 and was a member of the People's Representative Council from East Java from 1977 until 2004.

He served as a minister under former presidents Suharto and B.J. Habibie. He was Speaker of the People's Representative Council (DPR) from 1999 to 2004. In 2002 he was convicted of corruption over the embezzlement of funds intended for food relief for the poor, but the conviction was overturned on appeal in 2004.

Early life and education

Djandji Akbar Zahiruddin Tandjung was born on 14 August 1945 in Sorkam, North Sumatra during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies. The son of Zahiruddin Tandjung and Siti Kasmijah, he is a Muslim Pesisir by ethnicity. He is the 13th of 16 siblings, four of whom died before adulthood.

He attended the Muhammadiyah People's School in Sorkam, Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra province. He also attended Christian Elementary School in Medan, North Sumatra. In Jakarta, he attended Cikini Junior High School and then Kanisius High School, graduating in 1964.

He studied at the University of Indonesia, where he engaged in student activism and served as president of the Faculty of Technology. From 1972 to 1974, he was president of the influential Indonesian Muslim Students Association (HMI). He also joined the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI), which is affiliated with Golkar.

Political career

In 1976, then-Golkar leader Amir Murtono invited Akbar to stand for election for the party. In 1977, Akbar was elected to the House of Representatives, representing Golkar for East Java province. He was re-elected in 1982 and 1987. In the late 1980s, when long-serving president Suharto started to more actively seek Muslim support, Akbar became deputy secretary general of Golkar. Under Suharto, he served as State Minister for Youth Affairs and Sport from 1988 to 1993. He then served as State Minister of Housing from March 1993 to May 1998. Under Suharto's successor B.J. Habibie, he served as State Secretary from May 1998 to May 1999.

He was chairman of Golkar from 1998 to 2004, helping to rebuild the party following Suharto's 1998 resignation. At the Golkar convention in December 2004, Akbar lost the party's chairmanship to Jusuf Kalla, at that time the country's vice president.

Akbar has remained an influential figure within Golkar. Ahead of the 2014 Indonesian presidential elections, he criticized Golkar's plan to nominate then-party chairman Aburizal Bakrie for the presidency. The party ended up dropping Bakrie as its candidate and threw its weight behind Prabowo Subianto, with Akbar serving as one of his campaign advisers.

In 2017, Akbar expressed concern that Golkar could lose legislative seats in Indonesia's 2019 elections because of a negative public perception of its chairman, Setya Novanto. He said the party should make changes to improve its image.

Corruption conviction, appeal, and acquittal

In September 2002, Central Jakarta District Court sentenced Akbar to three years in prison for embezzling Rp 40 billion (about $4.8 million) in state funds that were supposed to have been spent on a 1999 food program for the poor. Prosecutors had recommended a four-year prison sentence, although the maximum penalty for corruption and abuse of power is 20 years. Two other people involved in the scandal, Dadang Sukandar and Winfried Simatupang, were each sentenced to 18 months in prison. The two served their time in Jakarta's Cipinang penitentiary, but Akbar never went to prison. He remained free pending a lengthy appeal process and continued to hold his government and political jobs. In January 2003, the Jakarta High Court upheld his conviction. In February 2004, a panel of five Supreme Court judges overturned Akbar's corruption conviction on the grounds he had just been following orders in 1999 from then-president B.J. Habibie. After the ruling, a dissenting judge, Abdul Rahman Saleh, said Akbar had engaged in "corrupt practice" and was guilty of "shameful conduct because he failed to show minimal appropriate efforts to protect state money”.

Honours

National

• Star of the Republic of Indonesia (3rd Class) (Indonesian: Bintang Republik Indonesia Utama) (1998)
• Star of Mahaputera (2nd Class) (Indonesian: Bintang Mahaputera Adipradana) (1992)

Foreign honours

•  Japan
  • Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2022)

•  Netherlands
  • Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (1996)

References

1. "Indonesian court clears Speaker Tandjung". United Press International. 12 February 2004. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
2. "PROFIL Djandji Akbar Zahiruddin Tandjung". PT. Viva Media Baru. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
3. "Akbar Tanjung". Merdeka.com. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
4. ^ Leo Suryadinata (2002). Elections and Politics in Indonesia. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. pp. 207–. ISBN 978-981-230-127-7.
5. Kusumadew, Anggi (16 January 2016). "Akbar Tandjung: Saya Tak Bisa Lepas dari Politik (1)". CNN Indonesia. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
6. Dirk Tomsa (3 September 2008). Party Politics and Democratization in Indonesia: Golkar in the Post-Suharto Era. Routledge. pp. 46–. ISBN 978-1-134-04575-4.
7. Margareth Aritonang, 'Golkar less than united ahead of elections', The Jakarta Post, 23 November 2013.
8. "Golkar Fully Supports Prabowo as Presidential Candidate". Tempo.co. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
9. Rostiani, Yeyen (14 June 2014). "Akbar claims that Prabowo-Hatta's electability increasing". republika.co.id. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
10. Manafe, Imanuel Nicolas (3 November 2017). "Akbar Tandjung Sebut Citra Setya Novanto Akan Gerus Keterpilihan Partai Golkar Dalam Pemilu 2019". TRIBUNnews.com. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
11. Damarjati, Danu (3 November 2017). "Akbar Tandjung Takut Citra Novanto Bikin Golkar Tak Lolos Pemilu". detikcom. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
12. "Akbar Tandjung Divonis Tiga Tahun Penjara". Liputan6. 5 September 2002. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
13. "Speaker of Indonesian parliament is sentenced to prison for corruption". The Irish Times. 5 September 2002. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
14. "Dadang Sukandar dan Winfried Simatupang Masuk ke LP Cipinang". indosiar.com. 16 February 2004. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
15. Perlez, Jane (13 February 2004). "Indonesian Court Overturns Politician's Corruption Conviction". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
16. Moore, Matthew (14 February 2004). "Judge's dissent on Speaker stuns Indonesia". The Age. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
17. "Daftar WNI yang Menerima Tanda Kehormatan Republik Indonesia Tahun 1959–sekarang" (PDF). Kementerian Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia. 7 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
18. Daftar WNI yang Mendapat Tanda Kehormatan Bintang Mahaputera tahun 1959 s.d. 2003 (PDF). Retrieved 4 October 2021.
19. "令和4年秋の外国人叙勲 受章者名簿" (PDF). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
20. "Detail biodata Pejabat Menteri". Kepustakaan Presiden. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

External links

• Profile at TokohIndonesia.com Archived 21 November 2006 at archive.today (In Indonesian)
• Akbar Tandjung Institute (In Indonesian)

• 1945 births
• Living people
• People from Sibolga
• Speakers of the House of Representatives (Indonesia)
• Candidates in the 2009 Indonesian presidential election
• Golkar politicians
• Indonesian Muslims
• Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun