Ahmad Syaikhu (born 23 January 1965) is an Indonesian politician who is currently President of the

Prosperous Justice Party The Prosperous Justice Party ( id, Partai Keadilan Sejahtera, sometimes called the Justice and Prosperity Party), frequently abbreviated to PKS, is an IslamistAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2017). ''Moving towards a Normalised Path: Political Islam in Contempo ...

. He served as the vice mayor of Bekasi between 2013 and 2018 as the deputy of Rahmat Effendi. Born in Cirebon Regency, he studied accounting and worked as a government auditor before being elected into Bekasi's city council and later the

West Java Provincial Council The West Java Regional People's Representative Council ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah Provinsi Jawa Barat) is the unicameral legislature of the Indonesian province of West Java. History The council was first founded in 1950, with Djaja Rahm ...

. He ran as Mayor of Bekasi and Vice Governor of

West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...

in 2008 and 2018, respectively, but both bids failed.

Background

Syaikhu was born in Ciledugkulon village, Ciledug, Cirebon Regency on 23 January 1965. His father was a civil servant. Syaikhu completed his basic education there, moving to a separate school once during elementary due to his father's reassignment, before proceeding to study accounting.

Career

He began his career in 1986 as a government auditor in South Sumatra. After three years there, he moved to become an auditor for the central government.

Legislatures

In the 2004 legislative election, Syaikhu won a seat in Bekasi's city council for the 2004–2009 term. Midway, he ran in the 2008 Bekasi mayoral election, but lost to Mochtar Mohammad and his running mate Rahmat Effendi. He then won a seat in the

following the 2009 legislative election.

Bekasi

He once more participated in the 2013 mayoral election as the running mate to Rahmat, with the pair winning with 43 percent of votes in the five-candidate race. They were sworn in on 13 March 2013. In 2015, he was elected as the chairman for the

's West Java branch. Syaikhu ran as the running mate to Sudrajat in the 2018 gubernatorial election for West Java. Although they initially placed low in opinion polls (around 4 percent), the pair exceeded expectations and placed second behind Ridwan Kamil/ Uu Ruzhanul Ulum, winning 28.74 percent.

National politics

Following the end of his tenure in Bekasi, he registered to run under PKS as a candidate for the

People's Representative Council The People's Representative Council of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia, DPR-RI), also known as the House of Representatives, is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), ...

, and was elected into the legislature. Later, he was brought forward as a candidate to replace

Sandiaga Uno Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno (born 28 June 1969) is an Indonesian businessman, investor and politician who is the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, and was the Deputy Governor of Jakarta. He was elected along with Anies Baswedan in the 20 ...

as the Vice Governor of

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

. He was later elected president of the Prosperous Justice Party for the 2020–2025 tenure.

Personal life

He is married to Lilik Wakhidah and the couple has six children. Syaikhu founded several organizations focusing on Islamic education. In addition, he is an avid shooter, having served as chairman of Bekasi's shooting and hunting association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Syaikhu, Ahmad 1965 births Living people People from Cirebon West Java Regional People's Representative Council members Members of Bekasi city council Prosperous Justice Party politicians