Mahyeldi Ansharullah (born 25 December 1966) is an Indonesian politician from 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 ...

who is the current governor of

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5, ...

. He was made mayor of

Padang Padang () is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra. With a Census population of 1,015,000 as of 2022, it is the 16th most populous city in Indonesia and the most populous city on the west coast of Sumatra. Th ...

in 2014, following a five-year tenure as deputy and victory in the elections of 2013 and 2018. Active in Islamic

dawah Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات). Etymology The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...

since his years in

Andalas University Andalas University ( id, Universitas Andalas, abbreviated ''Unand'') is a public research university in Padang, West Sumatra. Andalas is one of the major public institution of higher learning in Indonesia, and the oldest outside the island of Jav ...

, he became a member of the Islamist Prosperous Justice Party and first became an elected official in 2004 when he was elected to the province council. His programs as mayor of Padang has included the improvement of the city's infrastructure and hygiene, in addition to education with an added emphasis on studies of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

. In March 2020, Mahyeldi said he will waive his six months' salary amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Personal life

Born in the city of

Bukittinggi Bukittinggi ( min, Bukiktinggi, Jawi: , formerly nl, Fort de Kock) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010 and 121,028 in 2020, and an area of 25.24 km2. It is in the Minangkabau Highlands ...

as the first son of seven siblings, his father was a '' becak'' driver. He began showing interest in

in his teen years, when he was studying in a local junior high school. After completing his 12th year of study in Bukittinggi, he continued his education in

, the provincial capital.

Career

Mahyeldi began his political activity following the

fall of Suharto Suharto resigned as President of Indonesia on 21 May 1998 following the collapse of support for his 32-year long presidency. Vice President B. J. Habibie took over the presidency. Suharto's grip on power weakened following severe economic and ...

, joining the newly formed

where he became the provincial chairman between 2002-2005. He took part in the 2004 elections and won a seat in the provincial council as deputy speaker. He then resigned to run in the 2008 local elections as deputy mayor with Fauzi Bahar as his running mate. Following their victory, he was made deputy mayor on 18 February the following year. In the next election on 2013, he ran with Emzalmi against 9 other candidates for mayorship. After securing just 29.45% of the votes in the first round, he won 50.29% of the votes in the runoffs. Despite an initial challenge to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

, he was officially made mayor on 13 May 2014.

As mayor

He established

pesantren ''Pesantren'', or ''pondok pesantren'', are Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia. They consist of pondok, mosque, santri, teaching of classical Islamic texts and Kyai.Zamakhsyari Dhofie''The Pesantren Tradition: A Study of the Role of the Kyai ...

in the

ramadhan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. C ...

in public schools on 2015 where it had formerly been held in mosques, and offered scholarships to students who had memorized sufficient

Juz' A ''juzʼ'' (Arabic: جُزْءْ, plural: ''ajzāʼ'', literally meaning "part") is one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Quran is divided. It is also known as para (پارہ/পারা) in Iran and the Indian subcontinent. The ...

of the

. In 2018, he led a march attended by thousands which denounced

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

individuals. During the rally, Mahyeldi declared his opposition to LGBT rights, stating that "To the perpetrators of sin, let them repent and those who protect them immediately be aware because they will face opposition from all parties and communities in Padang as well as security forces.”

As governor

Mahyeldi was elected as governor in the 2020 West Sumatra gubernatorial election, winning 32.43 percent of votes. He was sworn in as governor on 25 February 2021.

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansharullah, Mahyeldi Living people 1966 births Padang Prosperous Justice Party politicians Mayors of Padang Minangkabau people Andalas University alumni Members of Indonesian provincial assemblies Mayors of places in Indonesia Governors of West Sumatra