Syamsuar (born 8 June 1954) is an Indonesian politician who is the Governor of

Riau Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. Accord ...

. He has served in the post since 2019, and had previously served as Regent of

Siak Regency Siak ( Jawi: ), is a regency (''kabupaten'') of Riau Province, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It has an area of 8,556.09 km² and had a population of 376,742 at the 2010 Census and 457,940 at the 2020 Census, comprising 236,494 male an ...

between 2011 and 2019.

Early life

Syamsuar was born on 8 June 1954 in the village of Jumrah, today in Rimba Melintang district of

Rokan Hilir Regency Rokan Hilir ("Lower Rokan") is a regency (''kabupaten'') of Riau Province, on Sumatra island, Indonesia. It occupies the lower part of the catchment area of the Rokan River, and has an area of 8,851.59 km2. It had a population of 553,216 at t ...

, as the second son of Wahi Abdullah and Rahimah. His father farmed rice and rubber. He entered elementary school in his home village, before moving to

Bagansiapiapi Bagansiapiapi or simply known as Bagan () is a city in Riau province on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The city is the capital of Rokan Hilir Regency in the Riau Province and is located on the east coast of Sumatra, on the Rokan River delt ...

for middle school and

Bengkalis Bengkalis (''Kota Bengkalis'') was the seat (capital) of Bengkalis Regency in the Riau province of Indonesia until 8 July 2013, when it became an independent city. It is located on Bengkalis Island. The city had a population of 66,211. Bengkalis ha ...

for his high school, graduating in 1972.

Career

After graduating from high school, he moved to

Sawahlunto Sawahlunto (Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a city in West Sumatra, Western Sumatra province, Indonesia, and lies 90 kilometres (a 2-hour drive) from Padang, the provincial capital. Sawahlunto is known as the site for the oldest coal mining site in Southe ...

to work there at a coal mine. After three years, he moved to Bengkalis and became a contract worker for the local government. While in Bengkalis, he went to a government academy, being accepted as a civil servant in 1987 and later obtaining a bachelor's degree in 1990 from the

University of North Sumatra The University of Sumatera Utara ( id, Universitas Sumatera Utara) or USU is a public university located in the city of Medan in North Sumatra, Indonesia. It is situated in Padang Bulan, in the Medan Baru subdistrict of Medan, close to the City ...

. He rose up the ranks between 1987 and 1996, and he had been appointed district head of Siak by 1996 and then of West

Tanjung Pinang Tanjungpinang, also written as Tanjung Pinang, is the capital city of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands. It covers a land area of 144.56 km2, mainly on the southern Bintan Island, as well as other smaller islands such as Dompak Island ...

in 2000. By 2001, he had become the deputy regent of

. In 2006, he ran in the regency election as the regent candidate, but was defeated by incumbent Arwin AS. During this period, he obtained his masters degree from

Riau University Universitas Riau ( id, Universitas Riau) is a public university in Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists o ...

in 2005. After the election loss, Syamsuar worked in the provincial government of

, becoming the secretary of the provincial election commission in 2008, provincial inspector in 2010, and then acting regent of

Meranti Islands Regency Meranti Islands is a regency (''kabupaten'') of Riau Province, and lies off the eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The regency comprises the islands of Tebing Tinggi, Rangsang, Padang and Merbau, together with minor offshore islan ...

. He took part in Siak regency's election again in 2011, this time winning with 38 percent of the votes (in a four-candidate race). He would be reelected in 2016 with 59.6% of votes.

Siak regent

In 2017, Syamsuar mandated the wearing on Thursdays of

Tanjak ''Tengkolok'', also known as ''Tanjak'', ''Destar'' (Minangkabau: ''Deta''; Kelantan-Pattani: Semutar) is a traditional Malay or Indonesian and male headgear. It is made from long songket cloth folded and tied in a particular style (''solek''). ...

, a traditional Malay headwear, for civil servants in order to popularize its use. He also worked with the Malaysian consulate in

Pekanbaru Pekanbaru is the capital of Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern part of Sumatra, Sumatra Island. Its name is derived from the Malay language, Malay words for 'new market' ('pekan' is market and 'baru' is new). ...

for relationships in cultural and sports fields. The old city of Siak, the former capital of the

Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura The Sultanate of Siak Sri Indrapura, often called Sultanate of Siak (Indonesian: Kesultanan Siak Sri Inderapura; Jawi: ), was a kingdom that was located in the Siak Regency, Riau from 1722 to 1949 CE. It was founded by ''Raja Kechil,'' who wa ...

, was also designated a Cultural Property of Indonesia during his tenure. Siak was signed up to be a "green" regency, aimed at conservation of remaining

peatland A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types ...

in the regency. He formally resigned as regent on 4 February 2019, in order to take up his new office as governor.

Riau governor

Syamsuar took part in the 2018 Riau gubernatorial election with Edy Nasution as his running mate, winning the election with 38.2 percent of votes. He was sworn in on 20 February 2019.

References

{{Governors of Riau Living people 1954 births Governors of Riau University of North Sumatra alumni Golkar politicians People from Riau Indonesian civil servants Regents of places in Riau University of Riau alumni