Abdurrahman Wahid

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Abdurrahman Wahid
Wahid at the World Economic Forum in 2000
4th President of Indonesia
In office
20 October 1999 – 23 July 2001
Vice PresidentMegawati Sukarnoputri
Preceded byB. J. Habibie
Succeeded byMegawati Sukarnoputri
Personal details
Born
Abdurrahman ad-Dakhil

(1940-09-07)7 September 1940
Jombang, Dutch East Indies
Died30 December 2009(2009-12-30) (aged 69)
Jakarta, Indonesia
Cause of deathcoronary artery and kidney disease and diabetes
Resting placeJombang, East Java, Indonesia
7°36′26″S 112°14′17″E / 7.607243°S 112.237986°E / -7.607243; 112.237986
Political partyNational Awakening Party
Spouse(s)
Sinta Nuriyah (m. 1968)
ChildrenAlissa Qotrunnada
Zannuba Ariffah Chafsoh
Anita Hayatunnufus
Inayah Wulandari
ParentsWahid Hasyim
Siti Sholehah
Alma materAl-Azhar University (Islamic studies 1967)
University of Baghdad
ProfessionReligious leader (Kyai), Politician
Signature
Websitewww.gusdur.net

KH Abdurrahman Wahid (September 7, 1940 — December 30, 2009),[1] called Gus Dur,[2] was the president of Indonesia from October 20, 1999 to July 23, 2001. He was the first elected president after the end of the Suharto government. He was removed from office in 2001 on charges of being corrupt.[1]

He was buried in Jombang, East Java, where a crowd of about 5,000 people went to the funeral. He had been very ill for a long time and was blind.[1]

Early life[change | change source]

Wahid was born in Jombang, East Java, in 1940. His grandfather started Indonesia's biggest Muslim organization, the Nahdlatul Ulama, or NU.[2] His father was the first Indonesian minister of religious affairs. The family moved to Jakarta in 1944. In 1959 he went back to Jombang, where he became a teacher and later a school principal. In 1963 he won a scholarship to go to Egypt and study at al-Azhar University in Cairo. He later studied in Baghdad and in the Netherlands. He returned to Indonesia in 1971 and worked as a journalist.[2]

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Ex-Indonesia leader Abdurrahman Wahid mourned". BBC News. December 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Obituary: Abdurrahman Wahid". BBC News. December 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
Political offices
Preceded by
B. J. Habibie
President of Indonesia
20 October 1999 – 23 July 2001
Succeeded by
Megawati Sukarnoputri
Party political offices
Preceded by
None
National Awakening Party nominee for President of Indonesia
1999 (won)
Succeeded by
None