Rusdy Mastura (born 8 February 1950) is an Indonesian politician who is the governor of Central Sulawesi and was the mayor of the province's capital, Palu, between 2005 and 2015.
Rusdy Mastura | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2021 | |
| Governor of Central Sulawesi | |
| Assumed office 16 June 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Longki Djanggola |
| Mayor of Palu | |
| In office 12 October 2005 – 7 August 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Suardin Suebo |
| Succeeded by | Hidayat |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 8 February 1950 Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia |
| Political party | Gerindra Party |
Early life and education
Rusdy was born in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on 8 February 1950,[1] and he completed his elementary and middle school education in Donggala, returning to Palu for high school.[2]
Career
Before being elected into political office, Rusdy worked as a consultant. He was also chairman of the Pancasila Youth organization in Central Sulawesi.[1]
Palu
In 1997, Rusdy was elected into the city council for Palu, and then between 1999 and 2004 he chaired the city council.[2] He participated in Palu's 2005 mayoral elections, when he won in a landslide after securing 60.82% of votes in a three-candidate race.[3] He was reelected following the 2010 election, winning 32 percent of votes in a six-candidate race.[4]
As Palu's mayor, Rusdy was the second Indonesian government official (after Abdurrahman Wahid during his presidency in 1999 to 2001) to publicly apologize for the mass killings in 1965–66.[1] His initial apology stemmed from a human rights event in March 2012 where he stated that he was ordered to guard a house where Indonesian Communist Party members were detained, and then apologized to the victims.[5] Rusdy's family was affiliated with Masyumi, which during 1965 was actively conducting violence against the communists.[1] In October 2013, he issued a mayoral order which officially apologized to the victims and became a legal basis for the victims to reclaim their rights.[6][7]
Rusdy initiated a plan, in conjunction with the central government, to establish a special economic zone in Palu, which would include investments in port and road facilities.[8] He also began a work program which employed some 5,000 poor residents of the city.[9] He resigned as mayor in August 2015 to participate in the gubernatorial elections for the province.[10]
He was a member of Golkar until late 2017, when he moved to the Nasdem Party, citing political reasons.[11] Rusdy was chairman of Golkar's Donggala Regency branch in 2017 before his move.[12]
As governor
Rusdy participated in the 2015 gubernatorial elections, but lost to Longki Djanggola and his lawsuit to the Constitutional Court was rejected.[13] He ran again in 2020 and, this time, won the election after securing 891,334 votes (59.6%).[14] He was sworn in on 16 June 2021.[15] By early 2023, Rusdy was the Chairman of the Advisory Council of Nasdem Party's Central Sulawesi branch.[16] In early[17] to mid 2023,[18] he moved to the Gerindra Party due to dissatisfaction with the Nasdem Party.[19] Later he was appointed as the Chairman of the Advisory Council of Gerindra Party's Central Sulawesi branch.[20]