Hamzah Haz

Who is Hamzah Haz?

Hamzah Haz is an Indonesian politician. He is the head of the United Development Party and served as the ninth Vice-President from 2001 until 2004.

Hamzah was a newspaper journalist in his home town of Pontianak, on the island of Borneo, and later taught economics at Tanjungpura University.

His political career began in 1968 as a member of the in West Kalimantan provincial parliament. He later moved to Jakarta, became a member of parliament in 1971, first as a member of the Muslim Nahdlatul Ulama group. In 1973 he became a member of the PPP.

Hamzah served as minister for investment under President B. J. Habibie, who replaced Suharto, then resigned that post to lead the PPP in the 1999 elections. Hamzah joined the cabinet of President Abdurrahman Wahid, then became the first minister to quit Wahid's first cabinet, resigning as minister for people's welfare after just two months.

He became a vocal critic of Wahid, but he is also known for his ability to compromise. By the time of Wahid's impeachment in the summer of 2001, Hamzah was leader of the PPP, then the third-largest party in the Indonesian Parliament.