John Wempi Wetipo (born 15 September 1972) is an Indonesian politician from Papua. He is currently serving as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, being appointed in 2022. Previously he served as Deputy Minister of Public Works and Housing from 2019 until 2022 and as the Regent of

Jayawijaya Regency Jayawijaya Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua. It occupies an area of 13,925.31 km2 in the Baliem Valley, situated in the central highlands of the province. It had a population of 196, ...

for two terms between 2008 and 2018. He participated in the 2018 Papua gubernatorial election, but lost to incumbent

Lukas Enembe Lukas Enembe (born 27 July 1967) is an Indonesian politician who serves as Governor of Papua Province since April 2013. He had previously served as Regent of Puncak Jaya Regency between 2007 and 2012, and Vice Regent of the same regency from 2 ...

Background

He was born on 15 September 1972 in the ''kampung'' of Hulekaima in the Maima district of

. Coming from the Dani tribe, he is the only son of Habel Wetipo and did his basic education in missionary schools. Later, he moved to Jayapura for his highschool. After completing basic education, he studied for 3 years in

Manado Manado () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 Census giving a population of 451,916 distributed over a land area of 162.53 km2.Badan Pusa ...

's Tourism Academy. Later, he graduated from a bachelor's and a master's program at

Cenderawasih University Cenderawasih University ( id, Universitas Cenderawasih) is a university in Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia. The university is the leading educational institution in the province. The university has faculties in economics, law, teacher trai ...

Career

Wetipo began working as a civil servant in 1996, and later became the head of the tourism agency for the regency. He later participated in the regency's first direct election in 2008 and won, being sworn in on 24 December 2008. As regent, Wetipo initiated the

Baliem Valley The Baliem Valley ( id, Lembah Baliem; also spelled Balim and sometimes known as the Grand Valley) is a valley of the Central Highlands in Western New Guinea. Specifically in Highland Papua, Indonesia, which is inhabited mainly by the Dani peopl ...

Cultural Festival, intended to draw tourists to the otherwise remote regency. He received an award from the

Corruption Eradication Commission Corruption Eradication Commission ( id, Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi), abbreviated as KPK, is an Indonesian government agency established to prevent and fight corruption in the country. Firli Bahuri, an active police general, is the current ch ...

for wealth reporting and from the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

for financial management in Jayawijaya. He was reelected in 2013 with over 91 percent of the votes. In 2018, Wetipo ran for the governorship of Papua. During the proceedings, he was accused of falsifying his degree, but the KPU rejected the suit. He would lose to incumbent

, securing only 32.5 percent of the votes. After the results were announced, Wetipo went 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 ...

, but his case was rejected. Wetipo was appointed as the Deputy Minister for Public Works of Housing under the Onward Indonesia Cabinet of Joko Widodo's second term. On Joko Widodo's 4th ministerial reshuffle, Wetipo is reappointed as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs on 15 June 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetipo, John Wempi 1972 births Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle politicians Living people Mayors and regents of places in Papua (province) Cenderawasih University alumni Onward Indonesia Cabinet Papuan people