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Aburizal Bakrie

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In thisIndonesian name,the name "Bakrie" is a family name, and the person should be referred to by the family name "Bakrie".

Aburizal Bakrie
Bakrie in March 2011
9thGeneral Chairman of the Golkar Party
In office
9 October 2009 – 17 May 2016
Preceded byJusuf Kalla
Succeeded bySetya Novanto
Personal details
Born(1946-11-15)15 November 1946(age 77)
Jakarta,Indonesia
Political partyGolkar
SpouseTatty Murnitriati
Children3, includingAnindya Bakrie
Alma materBandung Institute of Technology

Aburizal Bakrie(born 15 November 1946) is an Indonesian politician and a widely recognised successful businessman in Indonesia via his conglomerateBakrie Group.[1]From 2004 until 2005 Bakrie served as Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Economy.[2][3]From 2005 until 2009 he served as Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.[4]Since 2009, Bakrie served as the Chairman of theGolkar Partyup to late 2014 and resumed chairmanship in May 2015.[5]

He is well known to be responsible for theSidoarjo mud flowvia his companyEnergi Mega Persada.

Early life and education

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Bakrie was born on 15 November 1946 inJakarta.His father is Achmad Bakrie, the founder of Bakrie & Brothers andBakrie Group.His mother is Roosniah Nasution. Bakrie is the eldest of four, he has two brothers, Nirwan Bakrie and Indra Usmansyah Bakrie, and a sister Roosniah Odi Bakrie.[6]Bakrie attended theBandung Institute of Technologywhere he obtained a degree in electrical engineering in 1973.[7]

Career

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Business career

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In 1972 Bakrie joined PT Bakrie & Brothers Tbk known today as theBakrie Group,the conglomerate founded by his late fatherAchmad Bakrie[id],which prospered much like the rest of the Indonesian economy during theSoehartopresidency.[8]The Bakrie Group conducts business in agriculture, real estate, trade, shipping, banking, insurance, media, manufacturing, construction, and mining. Aburizal Bakrie, the eldest of four siblings was the chairman of the family enterprise from 1999 to 2004. In 1998 theAsian economic crisischallenged Bakrie's control of the conglomerate, from which he emerged victorious after a successful refinancing process in 2000.[9]

Public offices

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From 1991 to 1995 Bakrie served two consecutive terms as the President of theASEANBusiness Forum and two consecutive terms from 1994 to 2004 as the President of theKADIN.[10]As a member of theGolkarparty Bakrie was running to become Golkar's candidate for the presidency in 2004.

Coordinating Minister for Economy

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In 2004 Bakrie retired fromPT Bakrie & Brothers Tbkbefore being named Coordinating Minister for Economy.[10]The appointment by PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyonowas initially viewed with some reservation.[11]Shortly after being named to the cabinet of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Bakrie set in motion a new government policy calling for a 3% reduction of Indonesians living in poverty, by reducing fuel subsidies in exchange for financial support to approximately 6 million people.[12]Bakrie argued the government's need to gradually increase fuel prices to keep fuel subsidies from busting its budget, while bringing the cost of fuel closer to international levels.[13]By October 2005 after two price hikes, the cost of fuel increased by 126%.[14]Standard & Poor'srated the hike as an encouraging move to relieve immediate pressure on the country's fiscal position and external balance.[15]

In a move to stem Indonesia's declining output of crude oil, Bakrie weighed in[16]to end a standoff betweenExxonMobil CorporationandPT Pertamina.[17]The companies had been at odds for many years, following their dispute over operational and profit-sharing issues in theCepu Blockoil fields project,[18]theOPECmember's biggest oil discovery onJavain decades. The previous year Bakrie pledged that the new government wanted to resolve theCepuand other disputes involving international companies, in a show of its commitment to improving Indonesia's investment climate.[19]

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare

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After a reshuffling of the cabinet in 2005, Bakrie was appointed Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare. In May 2008 Bakrie announced the handout of $1.52 billion to nearly 19 million low-income households as part of a direct cash relief program[20]aimed to cushion the blow of the fuel increase.[21]

Chairman of Golkar party

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In 2009 Bakrie was elected as the Chairman ofthe Golkarparty at the Golkar Party Congress inPekanbaru,Riau,Indonesiaafter defeatingSurya Paloh,Yuddy Chrisnandi andHutomo Mandala Putra.In May 2010, he successfully formed and was elected the leader of a majority parliamentary coalition with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's party.

Sidoardjo mudflow disaster

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Bakrie's name has been mentioned in reference with theSidoarjo mud flowthat erupted on 29 May 2006 inSidoarjo,a regency ofEast Java,causing significant devastation to the environment and loss of life.[22]Scientists are divided over the cause that triggered the mud flow.[23]One side is claiming it was a natural occurrence caused by a6.3-magnitude earthquakethat occurred two days earlier nearYogyakarta,[24]while the other side and government confirmed the drilling practices of thePT Lapindo Brantas,a company in which Bakrie's family was a controlling shareholder, triggered themudflow.The media coverage as a result remains mixed.[25]

Although environmental groups urged Indonesia's government to revoke the drilling license of PT Lapindo Brantas for environmental mismanagement,[26]a three-year police investigation into the incident ended with the case being dropped. According to theJakarta Globe,Satya Widya Yudha,a legislator from Golkar, andEffendi Simbolonfrom thePDI-Pand deputy chairman of House of Representatives Commission VII, which oversees mines and energy affairs, largely sided with Bakrie's family in calling it a natural disaster and showed satisfaction with their compensation process, while denouncing "politicisation" of the issue. In the contrary,Eva Kusuma Sundari,then a legislator from PDI-P whose property was affected by the disaster, accused Lapindo and the government of failing to fulfill their obligations in compensating the victims, calling them "insensitive and unresponsive".[27]

A 2013 report indicated that for nearly seven years the mudflow had been wreaking havoc in the livelihoods ofPorongresidents in particular and on the Sidoarjo economy as a whole. The mudflow had also buried more than 6000 hectares of land, displacing 39,700 people and submerging three subdistricts, 12 villages, 11,241 buildings and 362 hectares of rice fields.[28]

Presidential elections 2014

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In the fall of 2010 media coverage started to indicate that Bakrie was seeking to become theGolkar Party's presidential candidate inIndonesia's 2014 presidential election.[29][30]Since then, Bakrie repeatedly expressed his desire to be nominated as Golkar's presidential candidate.[31]Media reports also suggested the Golkar Party had already commenced its search for arunning mateto team up with Bakrie,[32]introducing names likeSri Sultan Hamengkubuwana Xthe current Governor of Yogyakarta,[33]Pramono Anungthe Secretary General of theIndonesian Democratic Partyand Deputy House Speaker,Dahlan Iskanthe State Enterprises Minister, as well asEdhie Baskoro Yudhoyonothe youngest son of Indonesia's current PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono.[34]

Bakrie's early nomination was met with significant criticism as some party members favoured acaucusto first determine the mechanisms for naming the party's candidate.[35][36]The head of the Golkar Party advisory board, Akbar Tanjung, criticised the decision earlier in October 2011, when the party congress chose Bakrie as the preferred candidate without allowing other people to be nominated. Tanjung called the process "undemocratic and said it denied other members the right to pursue the nomination". This criticism was echoed by "other members, including some at the regional level".[35]Bakrie responded to the criticism by saying that they were "political attacks" and was described byThe Jakarta Postas "shrugging off" the criticism.[37]Others however pointed out the need to settle on their presidential candidate well ahead of the 2014 election, citing Indonesia's sheer geographic footprint with sprawling provinces and a population expected to reach 248 million this year.[citation needed]

On 30 June 2012 at Golkar's Leadership meeting inBogor,Bakrie was declared the party's 2014presidential candidate.[38][39]In his acceptance speech Bakrie said "Pleading for guidance from God almighty, the faith to build a more developed Indonesia, a strong will and support from all of you, with humility I officially and openly accept this nomination."[40]In an attempt to end speculation about a possible running mate for Bakrie[41]Golkar's Deputy chairmanAgung Laksonoruled out the selection of a vice-presidential candidate until 2013.[42]

Recent opinion polls show Bakrie trailing behind other presidential hopefuls[43]including former generalPrabowo Subianto(Chief Patron of theGreat Indonesia Movement Party) and former PresidentMegawati Sukarnoputri,daughter of Indonesia's first PresidentSukarno.[40][44]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Executive Profile & BiographyArchived16 March 2023 at theWayback MachineBloomberg BusinessWeek.Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  2. ^Wayne Arnold (4 October 2005)."This Bali Bombing Seen as Having Less Economic Effect".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 16 March 2023.Retrieved27 December2012.
  3. ^"Coordinating Minister for the Economy: Number of Poor Will Increase".Tempo.14 August 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 8 September 2008.Retrieved27 December2012.
  4. ^Daftar Menteri Koordinator Bidang Kesejahteraan Rakyat Indonesia
  5. ^Leo, Jegho."Aburizal Bakrie Regains Golkar Chairmanship".globalindonesianvoices.Archived fromthe originalon 8 January 2016.Retrieved19 May2015.Accessed 19 May 2015.
  6. ^VIVA, PT VIVA MEDIA BARU- (7 November 2016)."Profil Aburizal Bakrie - VIVA".viva.co.id(in Indonesian).Archivedfrom the original on 14 July 2020.Retrieved14 July2020.
  7. ^Who's Who[permanent dead link]The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
  8. ^Mark Forbes (23 June 2006)."Mud flung at minister in wake of Java disaster".The Sydney Morning Herald.Archivedfrom the original on 6 November 2012.Retrieved16 March2007.
  9. ^"Bakrie's Restructuring of Debts Completed".IBonWeb.30 November 2000. Archived fromthe originalon 18 May 2006.
  10. ^abCACCI Profile, 2004."Mr. Aburizal Bakrie now economic minister of Indonesia"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 27 December 2005.Retrieved15 October2006.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^"Indonesian leader sets out goals".BBC News.20 October 2004.Archivedfrom the original on 28 May 2006.Retrieved16 March2007.
  12. ^"Government to Maintain Increased Fuel Prices".- TEMPO Interactive.16 March 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 24 March 2013.Retrieved17 April2012.
  13. ^"Indonesia Min: New Fuel Prices To Remain Below International Prices".Dow Jones.29 September 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 28 November 2019.Retrieved17 April2012.
  14. ^"Indonesia raises fuel prices by 126%".Financial Times.1 October 2005.Retrieved17 April2012.
  15. ^"Indonesia's donors support latest fuel price hike, Bakrie".AFX News.3 October 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved17 April2012.
  16. ^"Exxon Claims Right To Run Cepu Oil".Shana News.17 November 2005. Archived fromthe originalon 24 September 2015.Retrieved17 April2012.
  17. ^"Indonesia: ExxonMobil Cepu oil field to begin full production".energy-pedia news.29 July 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved17 April2012.
  18. ^"Cepu Block".Archived fromthe originalon 1 May 2011.Retrieved17 April2012.
  19. ^"Jakarta plans to resolve dispute over giant oilfield".Financial Times.15 November 2004.Retrieved17 April2012.
  20. ^"Fuel prices to increase after May 23. Date and details of coming fuel hike await president's approval of fuel subsidy program".Bali Post.18 May 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 14 October 2013.Retrieved29 May2013.
  21. ^"Indonesia to cut fuel subsidies".The New York Times.23 May 2008.Archivedfrom the original on 28 June 2018.Retrieved17 April2012.
  22. ^Charles Choi (22 July 2013)."Catastrophic Mud Eruption Had Natural Causes".Discovery News.Archived fromthe originalon 11 April 2014.Retrieved23 July2013.
  23. ^LiveScience (22 July 2013)."Mud Eruption in Indonesia: Was Disaster Blamed on Drilling Activity Actually Caused By Quake?".HuffPost.Archivedfrom the original on 26 July 2013.Retrieved23 July2013.
  24. ^"Study starts debate over Indonesia volcano".The Australian.23 July 2013.Retrieved23 July2013.
  25. ^Staff writer(14 January 2010)."Indonesia's Teflon tycoon".The Economist.Archivedfrom the original on 1 August 2014.Retrieved20 February2012.
  26. ^Arie Rukmantara (14 June 2006)."Shut Lapindo well, arrest management, government told".The Jakarta Post.Archived fromthe originalon 10 October 2012.Retrieved20 February2012.
  27. ^Fidelis E Satriastanti, Ezra Sihite & Markus Junianto Sihaloho (30 May 2012)."Politicians Defend Bakrie, Say Sidoarjo Victims Are Better Off".Jakarta Globe.Archived fromthe originalon 1 June 2012.Retrieved30 May2012.
  28. ^Hans David Tampubolong (5 March 2013)."Mudflow Erupting After Seven Years".Archivedfrom the original on 1 January 2015.Retrieved27 February2014.
  29. ^Markus Junianto Sihaloho (29 September 2010)."Aburizal in 2014, if the Polls Are Right".Jakarta Globe.Archived fromthe originalon 22 September 2012.
  30. ^"Indonesian tycoon Aburizal Bakrie to run for president".The Straits Times.Agence France-Presse. 12 September 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 24 June 2012.Retrieved17 January2012.
  31. ^JG (19 February 2012)."I'm Ready For 2014".Jakarta Globe.Archived fromthe originalon 21 February 2012.
  32. ^ANTARA (28 December 2011)."Golkar seeking running mate for Aburizal as presidential candidate".Antara.Archivedfrom the original on 16 October 2013.Retrieved17 January2012.
  33. ^Slamet Susanto (24 June 2012)."Golkar Party Yogyakarta branches declare Sultan as VP candidate".The Jakarta Post.Archived fromthe originalon 27 June 2012.Retrieved4 July2012.
  34. ^Ezra Sihite (21 June 2012)."Bakrie Considers Unlikely Pairing with SBY's Son".Jakarta Globe.Archived fromthe originalon 25 June 2012.Retrieved4 July2012.
  35. ^abStaff writer(10 May 2012)."Golkar Party Members Try To Make Up".Jakarta Globe.Archived fromthe originalon 17 September 2012.Retrieved30 May2012.
  36. ^Staff writer(1 July 2012)."Aburizal Bakrie Named as Golkar's Presidential Candidate".Jakarta Globe.Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2013.Retrieved4 July2012.
  37. ^Staff writer(1 May 2012)."Philosophic Ical shrugs off intra-Golkar atacks [sic] ".The Jakarta Post.Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved30 May2012.
  38. ^Dian Widiyanarko (29 June 2012)."Golkar to Declare Presidential Candidate".id:VIVAnews.Archived fromthe originalon 9 February 2013.Retrieved4 July2012.
  39. ^Ahmad Pathoni (3 July 2012)."Bakrie Nomination Starts Indonesia's Presidential Race".Wall Street Journal Online Blog.Archivedfrom the original on 6 July 2012.Retrieved4 July2012.
  40. ^ab"Mining tycoon secures Golkar nomination".Gulf Today.Reuters. 1 July 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 14 January 2013.Retrieved4 July2012.
  41. ^Suara Pembaruan (29 June 2012)."Golkar's Aburizal Bakrie Names 5 Potential VP Candidates".Jakarta Globe.Archived fromthe originalon 5 July 2012.Retrieved4 July2012.
  42. ^Staff writer(3 July 2012)."Golkar to decide VP candidate in 2013".The Jakarta Post.Archived fromthe originalon 4 July 2012.Retrieved4 July2012.
  43. ^Ahmad Fuad Yahya (7 June 2012)."Prabowo Most Popular Presidential Candidate".BERNAMA Malaysian National News Agency.Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2013.Retrieved4 July2012.
  44. ^Ezra Sihite (26 June 2012)."Golkar Eyes 30% of Votes in 2014".Jakarta Globe.Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2014.Retrieved4 July2012.
[edit]
Business positions
Preceded by Chairman ofBakrie and Brothers
1994–2004 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Sotion Ardjanggi
 President of Indonesian Chamber of Commerce
1994–2004 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Coordinating Minister for the Economy
2004–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare
2005–2009 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader ofGolkar
2009–2017 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aburizal_Bakrie&oldid=1239789115"