Amir Syamsuddin (born 27 May 1941) is the former Minister of Justice and Human Rights of Indonesia.

Biography

Amir was born in

Makassar Makassar (, mak, ᨆᨀᨔᨑ, Mangkasara’, ) is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Med ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

, on 27 May 1941 to Andi Bulaeng Dg Nipati. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in law from the

University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia ( id, Universitas Indonesia, abbreviated as UI) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dut ...

in 1983, later earning a doctorate from the same university. In 1983, Amir founded Amir Syamsuddin Law Offices and Partners. He later founded Acemark, an intellectual property firm. In 2003, Amir represented former

Golkar ) , foundation = , youth = AMPG (Golkar Party Young Force) , women = KPPG (Golkar Party Women's Corps) , newspaper = '' Suara Karya'' (1971–2016) , headquarters = Jakarta , ideology ...

chairman and Speaker of 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), ...

Akbar Tanjung Djandji Akbar Zahiruddin Tandjung (born 14 August 1945), more commonly referred to as Akbar Tandjung, is an Indonesian politician who served as the Speaker of the People's Representative Council from 1999 until 2004. A member of the Golkar party, ...

when he was charged with corruption. Tanjung was eventually acquitted by the

Supreme Court of Indonesia The Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Mahkamah Agung Republik Indonesia) is the independent judicial arm of the state. It maintains a system of courts and sits above the other courts and is the final court of appeal. It can also ...

. He also represented the magazine ''

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

'' when it was sued by

Probosutedjo Probosutedjo (1 May 1930 – 26 March 2018) was a businessman and the younger half-brother of former Indonesian president Suharto. Like many Indonesians, Indonesian names, he took only one name. Probosutedjo was one of seven children from his mothe ...

. By 2011 Amir was serving as secretary of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

's ethics council. On 19 October 2011, Amir, then serving on the board of advisers to the Democratic Party, was selected as Minister of Justice and Human Rights of Indonesia, ceasing his legal practice. He replaced

Patrialis Akbar Patrialis Akbar (born 31 October 1958) is an advocate and politician who was member of the Constitutional Court Justice of the Indonesian Constitutional Court for the period 2013-2017 from Padang, West Sumatra. He has a complete career in three br ...

amidst rumours of corruption in the justice system; Patrialis welcomed the appointment. Following his appointment, Amir stated that he intended to end the practice of giving convicted corruptors and terrorists cuts to their sentences.

Reception

Teten Masduki of Transparency International Indonesia welcomed Amir's appointment, saying that he had "made a good first impression"; however, Masduki cautioned that Syamsuddin would have to follow through on his promises. ''

The Jakarta Post ''The Jakarta Post'' is a daily English-language newspaper in Indonesia. The paper is owned by PT Niskala Media Tenggara and based in the nation's capital, Jakarta. ''The Jakarta Post'' started as a collaboration between four Indonesian med ...

'' reported the former Justice and Human Rights Minister

Yusril Ihza Mahendra Yusril Ihza Mahendra (born 5 February 1956) is an Indonesian lawyer, politician and academic, who is currently serving as the leader of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) since 2015. Previously, he served as the leader of the PBB from 1998 until 2005 ...

as "warning" that ending sentence cuts for corruptors and terrorists "might violate human rights and the principle of equal treatment for prisoners".

Personal life

Amir has seven children. He has cited lawyer Suardi Tasrif as an inspiration towards becoming a lawyer.

References

;Footnotes ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Syamsuddin, Amir Living people Indonesian Muslims Bugis people People from Makassar Indonesian people of Chinese descent 1941 births Democratic Party (Indonesia) politicians 20th-century Indonesian lawyers Ministers of law and human rights of Indonesia 21st-century Indonesian lawyers