Wan Abubakar (born 9 August 1950) is an Indonesian politician who was a member 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), ...

between 2009 and 2014. He also briefly served as 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 ...

in 2008. He served as the vice governor to

Rusli Zainal Rusli Zainal (born 3 December 1957) is an Indonesian former politician convicted of corruption who served two terms as Governor of Riau between 2003 and 2013. He was also previously regent of Indragiri Hilir Regency. He was sentenced to 14 years ...

since 2003, and when Zainal resigned in July 2008, Abubakar was elevated to governor for the rest of his term.

Early life

Abubakar was born in what is today

Bengkalis Regency Bengkalis Regency is a regency of Indonesia in the Riau province. The regency, which includes the whole of Bengkalis and Rupat Islands in the Strait of Malacca, has been established since 1956. The regency was formerly divided into 13 districts (or ...

on 9 August 1950. In 1975, he became a teacher at a

Muhammadiyah Muhammadiyah ( ar, محمدية; 'followers of Muhammad'); also known as the Muhammadiyah Society ( id, Persyarikatan Muhammadiyah) is a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia.A. Jalil HamidTackle the rising cost of living longer ...

-run school. Later in his career, he would receive a bachelor's degree in religious law from an institute 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). ...

(1995), and a masters in public administration from in Jakarta (2001).

Political career

In 1977, Abubakar was elected into the Riau Regional People's Representative Council. He would serve four terms until 1997, and then serve a fifth term between 1998 and 2003 as a member of the

United Development Party The United Development Party ( id, Partai Persatuan Pembangunan, sometimes translated as Development Unity Party; abbreviated PPP) is an Islam-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2013). ''Partai politik Islam: Teori dan praktik di Indonesia''. Yogyakarta: Grah ...

(PPP). Abubakar ran as the running mate to

in the 2003 gubernatorial contest, with the support of PPP and the

National Mandate Party The National Mandate Party ( id, Partai Amanat Nasional), frequently abbreviated to PAN, is an Islam-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2017). ''Moving towards a Normalised Path: Political Islam in Contemporary Indonesia''. JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN (JOURNAL ...

, and the pair was elected in a surprise win against incumbent Saleh Djasit. At that point, Abubakar was serving as the deputy speaker of the provincial legislature. The pair's tenure commenced on 21 November 2003. When the end of their first term was nearing, the pair did not run as a joint ticket, as Abubakar and Zainal had poor relations in office. In one occasion, Abubakar had criticized Zainal's decision to construct a monument commemorating his father-in-law,

Ismail Suko Ismail Suko (15 June 1932 – 16 May 2011) was an Indonesian politician and civil servant. He served as a member of the People's Representative Council from 1987 to 1992, after previously serving in the provincial legislature and civil service of ...

, paid for from the provincial budget. Abubakar secured PPP's support for his candidacy as governor, but was unable to secure other parties' support. During this attempt, Abubakar had submitted a resignation letter to the

Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

, but when it became clear that his gubernatorial run would fail, he opted to travel to Jakarta and retract his resignation. Zainal, meanwhile, did resign as governor to run for his reelection, and Abubakar was sworn in as full governor in his place on 31 July 2008. Zainal won his reelection bid, and replaced Abubakar on 21 November 2008. After the end of his tenure, Abubakar ran as a candidate for the

(DPR) in the 2009 legislative election. He was elected as a representative of Riau's 1st district with 55,030 votes. He attempted to run in the 2013 gubernatorial election in Riau, but he failed to secure PPP's support. Despite this, he attempted to run as an independent candidate, but eventually failed to collect enough endorsements and his candidacy was disqualified by the

General Elections Commission The General Elections Commission ( id, Komisi Pemilihan Umum, abbreviated as KPU) is the body that organises elections in Indonesia. Its responsibilities include deciding which parties can contest elections, organising the voting and announcing ...

. In the 2014 legislative election, he did not run for a second DPR term, instead running as a candidate for the

Regional Representative Council The Regional Representative Council ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Daerah, DPD; alternatively translatable as the House of Regions or the House of Regional Representatives or the Senate of Indonesia), is one of two parliamentary chambers in Indonesia ...

. He was not elected. He ran for a second DPR term in the 2019 election as a candidate of the

which he had moved to in 2018. However, he was again not elected.

Family

He is married to Wan Elizam Ali, and as of 2009 the couple had five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abubakar, Wan 1950 births Living people People from Riau Governors of Riau Members of the People's Representative Council, 2009 United Development Party politicians National Mandate Party politicians Members of Indonesian provincial assemblies