Aburizal Bakrie
Aburizal Bakrie
Born
15 November 1946
(age 65)
Jakarta, Indonesia
Nationality Indonesian
Alma mater
Bandung Institute of
Technology (Electrical
Engineering 1973)
Net worth US$890 million (2011)[1]
Title Golkar Party Chairman
Term 2009–present
Predecessor Jusuf Kalla
Political
party Golongan Karya
Religion Islam
Spouse Tatty Murnitriati
Children
Anindya Noverdian Bakrie
Anindhita Anestya Bakrie
Anindra Ardiansyah Bakrie
In this Indonesian name, the name "Bakrie"
is a family name, and the person should be
referred to by the family name "Bakrie".
Aburizal Bakrie (born 15 November 1946)
is a politician, and widely recognized as
one of the most successful pribumi (native
Indonesian) businessmen in Indonesia.[2]
From 2004 until 2009 he served as
Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for
Economy[3] and Coordinating Minister for
People's Welfare[4] respectively. Since
2009, Bakrie serves as the Chairman of the
Golkar Party and is running to become its
nominee for the Indonesian presidential
election, 2014.[5]
Early life and education
Bakrie attended the Bandung Institute of
Technology where he obtained a degree in
electrical engineering in 1973.[6]
Career
Business career
In 1972 Bakrie joined PT Bakrie & Brothers
Tbk, the conglomerate founded by his late
father Achmad Bakrie, which prospered
much like the rest of the Indonesian
economy during the Soeharto presidency.
[7] 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 the Asian economic
crisis challenged Bakrie's control of the
conglomerate, from which he emerged
victorious after a successful refinancing
process in 2000.[8]
Public offices
From 1991 to 1995 Bakrie served two
consecutive terms as the President of the
ASEAN Business Forum and two
consecutive terms from 1994 to 2004 as
the President of the Indonesian Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (aka Kadin).[9]
As a member of the Golkar party Bakrie
was running to become Golkar's candidate
for the presidency in 2004.
Coordinating Minister for Economy
In 2004 Bakrie retired from PT Bakrie &
Brothers Tbk before being named
Coordinating Minister for Economy.[9] The
appointment by President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono was initially viewed with some
reservation.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] By
October 2005 and after two price hikes,
the cost of fuel increased by 126%.
[13]Standard & Poor's rated the hike as an
encouraging move to relieve immediate
pressure on the country's fiscal position
and external balance.[14]
In a move to stem Indonesia's declining
output of crude oil, Bakrie weighed in[15]
to end a standoff between ExxonMobil
Corporation and PT Pertamina.[16] The
companies had been at odds for many
years, following their dispute over
operational and profit sharing issues in the
Cepu Block oil fields project,[17] the OPEC
member's biggest oil discovery on Java in
decades. The previous year Bakrie pledged
that the new government wanted to
resolve the Cepu and other disputes
involving international companies, in a
show of its commitment to improving
Indonesia's investment climate.[18]
Coordinating Minister for People's
Welfare
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[19] aimed to cushion the blow of
the fuel increase.[20]
Chairman of Golkar party
In 2009 Bakrie was elected as the
Chairman of Golkar party at Golkar Party
Congress in Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia
after defeating Surya Paloh, Yuddy
Chrisnandi and Hutomo 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.
Lumpur Sidoarjo
An event titled the Sidoarjo mud flow
began on May 2006, causing significant
devastation and loss of life. The mud flow
started near PT Lapindo Brantas, a
company owned by the Bakrie family. The
devastation was blamed on the company,
who stated that the earthquake three days
earlier had caused the mudflow, but this
statement was "dismissed by numerous
international experts".[21] A number of
environmentalist groups demanded that
the company be shut down and that the
company should be "prosecuted under
environmental laws for gross negligence".
PT Lapindo Brantas' partner firm, PT Medco
E&P Brantas, stated that Lapindo had
"failed to properly case the drilling hole"
and that Lapindo was "liable for damage
caused by the deluge of mud".[22]
A three year police investigation into the
incident ended with the case being
dropped with no results. A special
investigative committee looking into the
mudflow as well, headed by a member of
the Golkar party, stated that it was a
natural disaster, even though little evidence
was presented.[21] Indonesian politicians
have defended Bakrie, calling the mud flow
a "purely natural disaster" and praising him
and the rest of the Bakrie family for paying
some compensation to the victims.[23]
Presidential elections 2014
Although Bakrie has yet to announce his
candidacy for the presidency, on
September 12, 2011 a Golkar Party board
meeting held in Bali chose him as their
presidential candidate[24] for the
Indonesian presidential election, 2014. On
19 February 2012 Bakrie stated during an
event of the Golkar party in Bogor, his
willingness to make himself available to be
nominated as their presidential candidate,
if asked.[25] Previously when asked about
a possible candidacy, Bakrie said he had
not made any firm decision and would
base his candidacy on opinion polls.[26]
Meanwhile, the Golkar Party started its
search for a running mate to team up with
Bakrie, should he run as a presidential
candidate in the 2014 election.[27] Some
of the Vice Presidential candidates
mentioned include the names of Sri Sultan
Hamengkubuwana X (Governor of
Yogyakarta), Pramono Anung (Secretary
General of the Indonesian Democratic Party
and Deputy House Speaker), Dahlan Iskan
(State Enterprises Minister) and Prabowo
Subianto (Chief Patron of the Great
Indonesia Movement Party).
It was announced in April 2012 that Bakrie
was to be the official presidential
representative for the Golkar Party in the
2014 elections, though the formal
nomination would not be made until July,
during the national meeting. However,
head of the Golkar Party advisory board,
Akbar Tanjung, criticized the decision back
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".[28] Bakrie responded to the
criticism by saying that they were "political
attacks" and was described by The Jakarta
Post as "shrugging off" the criticism.
