Mustafa Abubakar

Who is Mustafa Abubakar?

Mustafa Abubakar is an Indonesian politician and formerly governor of the province of Aceh. Mustafa was appointed as the State Minister for State Enterprises in the Second United Indonesia Cabinet, which was announced on 21 October 2009 following the re-election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Mustafa was brought into the cabinet after reforming the Indonesian Bureau of Logistics, whose previous Chairman, Widjanarko Puspoyo, had been involved in a corruption scandal.

Mustafa Abubakar spent his childhood in Meureudu, the capital of the Pidie Jaya Regency in Aceh. He was educated in the Fisheries and Marine Science Faculty of The Bogor Agricultural University and served as the chairman of the student council at IPB. After graduating in 1977 he worked as an agricultural consultant before joining the fisheries and maritime affairs ministry. In 2005 he was appointed as the governor of his home province of Aceh after the previous governor, Abdullah Puteh, was indicted on corruption charges.

Mustafa held the position of governor of Aceh for just over one year throughout 2006. The period was an important one for Aceh. The major aid effort following the Asian tsunami of December 2004, in which about 170,000 people in Aceh died, was underway. In addition, the key Memorandum of Understanding signed in Helsinki in August 2005 to establish peace in the province after nearly 30 years of internal conflict was being implemented. There was therefore a great deal of interest, both from within Indonesia and abroad, in the management and governance of the province. The main events of his time in office are recorded in Berani tidak popular: Mustafa Abubakar memimpin Aceh masa transisi. He was succeeded as governor by Irwandi Yusuf who had formerly held positions in Free Aceh Movement.