Rachmad Gobel (born 3 September 1962) is an Indonesian businessman and politician from

Gorontalo Gorontalo (Gorontalo language, Gorontaloan: ''Hulontalo'') is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi. Located on the Minahasa Peninsula, Gorontalo was formerly part of the province of North Sulawesi until its ...

. His family controls the company, Gobel Group which is now called PT. Panasonic Gobel Indonesia, an Indonesian division of

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...

. He is also the former Minister of Trade and the Indonesian President's

Special Envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

to Japan. Currently, he is the Deputy 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), ...

Early life

Gobel is the fifth child and first male son of the Thayeb Mohammad Gobel and Annie Nento Gobel from Gorontalo. Thayeb Gobel was well known as the founder of the business group and pioneered electronics industry in Indonesia. From childhood he was educated to become the heir and leader of the Gobel business group, founded and led by his father. After graduating from high school in

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 ...

in 1981, Rachmad Gobel chose to continue his studies in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

at the

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...

. After four years he completed his studies at the Department of International Trade.

Career

Panasonic Gobel Indonesia

In 1989, Gobel returned to Indonesia and was appointed assistant to the President Director of PT. Panasonic Gobel (now ''PT. Panasonic Indonesia''). The company is a joint venture between Japan with Indonesia in the field of industrial manufacturing of

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

, which was established in 1970. In 1991, Gobel was officially appointed as member of the board of directors to oversee company's management planning. In 1993, he was appointed Vice President Director of ''PT. National Gobel'' (now ''PT. Panasonic Manufacturing Indonesia''). Since 2002, Rachmad has served as Commissioner of PT. National Gobel (now PT. Panasonic Manufacturing Indonesia). He is also the principle at PT. Apple Indonesia.

Chamber of Commerce Indonesia

In 2002, Gobel sat as Chairman of Kadin Indonesia Field of Metal, Machinery, Chemicals and Electronics. When a change of leadership occurred in Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Indonesia the chairman

Mohamad Suleman Hidayat Mohamad Suleman Hidayat (born December 2, 1944) is an Indonesian businessman and politician from Jombang, East Java. He was part of the Second United Indonesia Cabinet and has served as Minister of Industry The industry minister is a cabinet pos ...

in February 2004 Rachmad was reappointed for another four years.

Minister for Trade

Gobel was appointed by President

Joko Widodo Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), popularly known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the 7th and current president of Indonesia. Elected in July 2014, he was the first Indonesian president not to come from an elite ...

as Trade Minister in the Working Cabinet in 2014. He was one of the ministers selected from a professional representative. One year after his appointment, due to a cabinet reshuffle, he was removed as minister. He was replaced by

Thomas Trikasih Lembong Thomas Trikasih Lembong (born 4 March 1971), better known as Tom Lembong, is an Indonesian politician. Since 27 July 2016, he has been Head of Indonesia'Investment Coordinating Board(''Badan Koordinasi Penanaman Modal'').. He formerly served as ...

Parliament

Gobel ran for a legislative seat in the 2019 elections, and was elected into the

representing Gorontalo after winning 146,067 seats. He was appointed as one of the body's deputy speakers.

Education

In 1984, Gobel attended

in Tokyo, Japan where he graduated with a

Bachelors A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

of International Trade Studies. In 2002, he received an honorary Doctorate from the

Takushoku University Takushoku University (拓殖大学; ''Takushoku Daigaku'', abbreviated as 拓大 ''Takudai'') is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913).

. In 2014, he received another honorary doctorate from

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gobel, Rachmad 1962 births Living people Indonesian business executives Working Cabinet (Joko Widodo) Trade ministers of Indonesia Nasdem Party politicians Politicians from Gorontalo (province) Members of the People's Representative Council, 2019