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Jusuf Kalla by National Library of Indonesia –

Top 10 Outstanding Facts about Jusuf Kalla

 Muhammad Jusuf Kalla was born on 15 May 1942. Jusuf is an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the 10th and 12th vice president of Indonesia, the only vice president in Indonesian history to serve two non-consecutive terms in office (2004–2009 and 2014–2019).

Jusuf Kalia was unsuccessful as Golkar’s presidential nominee in the 2009 presidential election. Before Kalla declared himself as the running mate for Joko Widodo in the 2014 presidential election, a 2012 poll placed his popularity among likely voters in the top three contenders for the presidency and ahead of his own party’s nominee Aburizal Bakrie.

Here are the top 10 outstanding facts about Jusuf Kalla.

 1. Kalla started showing interest in a political career while at the University

After completing school, Kalla attended Hasanuddin University in Makassar. At university, he became active in the Indonesian Student Action Front, a student organization that supported General Suharto in his bid to gain power from President Sukarno. 

Kalla was elected as chair of the South Sulawesi branch of KAMI. He showed interest in a political career, becoming a member of the Regional People’s Representative Council and chairman of the Youth Division of Golkar when it was still organized under a Joint Secretariat format.

 2. Jusuf Kalla set aside his political activities to help run the family business

Presiden SBY menerima with Jusuf Kalla –

In 1967 Kalla graduated from the Economics Faculty at Hasanuddin University. The economic situation was bleak at the time and his father, Hadji Kalla, considered shutting down the family business, NV Hadji Kalla. 

Instead, Kalla decided to take over the firm. Putting aside his political activities, in 1968 Kalla became CEO of NV Hadji Kalla while his father became chairman. In the beginning, the business only had one employee, and business was slow.

Kalla’s mother assisted by trading silk and running a small transportation business with three buses.  Over time the business grew and became quite successful. NV Hadji Kalla expanded from the export-import trading business into other sectors.

3. Kalla has been active in numerous well-known organizations

Aside from his business career, Kalla has been active in numerous well-known organizations. From 1979 to 1989, he was chairman of the Indonesian Economics Graduates Association in Makassar and continues to be an adviser for ISEI. 

Kalla was extensively involved with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. From 1985 to 1998 he was chairman of KADIN in South Sulawesi and was the coordinator for KADIN in eastern Indonesia. 

In addition, Kalla is on the board of trustees for three universities in Makassar. Kalla has contributed socially by building the Al Markaz Mosque and becoming chairman of its Islamic center.

 4. Kalla returned to active politics in 1987

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh meeting with the Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, in New Delhi on January 30, 2007. –

Kalla returned to active politics in 1987 when he was appointed to the People’s Consultative Assembly as a regional representative for South Sulawesi. He was re-appointed to the MPR in 1992, 1997, and 1999.

The People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia is the legislative branch of Indonesia’s political system. It is composed of the members of the People’s Representative Council and the Regional Representative Council. Before 2004, and the amendments to the 1945 Constitution, the MPR was the highest governing body in Indonesia.

 5. In 2001, Kalla was appointed as Coordinating Minister of People’s Welfare

In July 2001, at a special session of the MPR, President Gus Dur was dismissed from office. Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri took over the presidency and included Kalla in her cabinet, appointing him to the senior post of Coordinating Minister of People’s Welfare. Although it was not part of his ministerial brief, Kalla helped solve the inter-religious conflict in Poso on his native island of Sulawesi. Kalla facilitated the negotiation which resulted in the signing of the Malino II Accord on 20 December 2001 and an end to the conflict which had gone on for three years. 

Two months later, Kalla helped solve another conflict in Sulawesi. On 12 February 2002, Kalla, together with the Coordinating Minister of Politics and Society Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, managed to solve a similar conflict on Ambon and Molucca through a second Malino Declaration.

 6. In August 2003 Kalla announced his candidacy for Presidency

Jusuf Kalla with vice presidental decoration in his second period –

Kalla enlisted as a participant in Golkar’s 2004 Convention which would choose the Golkar candidate for president. As the months went by, however, Kalla came to be seen more as a vice presidential candidate. He was expected to partner with a Javanese presidential candidate and his non-Javanese background was seen as a means of attracting non-Javanese votes which a Javanese candidate might have trouble getting.

Just days before the Golkar national convention. Kalla decided to withdraw from running under the Golkar banner. Rather, he accepted the offer from the Democratic Party’s Yudhoyono to become his running mate. The pair also received the support of the Crescent Star Party, the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party, and the Reform Star Party.

 7. In 2009, Kalla unsuccessfully ran for President

Kalla has been often mentioned as a possible nominee of the Golkar Party in the 2014 presidential race.

In 2009 Kalla ran in the Indonesian presidential election with former Armed Forces Chief of Staff Wiranto as his running mate, finishing third with 12.4% of the vote.

 8. In 2014, despite his popularity, Kalla declined to run for Presidency

Official Portrait of Jusuf Kalla as Vice President of Indonesia 2014-2019 by Government of Indonesia –

During a dedication ceremony of the Indonesian Red Cross headquarters in the Riau province on 3 February 2012 Kalla stated his willingness to run in the presidential election in 2014 should he receive sufficient public support.

By May 2012 however, Kalla stated that he had no intention of running in the 2014 presidential election. Kalla said he had no hard feelings about party chairman Aburizal Bakrie’s upcoming inauguration as presidential candidate for the Golkar Party and that he had no intention of competing with him despite surveys that showed that Kalla was likely to be more electable than Bakrie.

During Golkar’s National Leadership meeting in Bogor on 29 June 2012, Bakrie was officially declared the Golkar Party’s 2014 presidential candidate.

 9. During his second term as vice president, Kalla was critical of their neighbor nations Malaysia and Singapore 

He criticized them for airing their concerns about suffering from the repeated haze caused by Indonesian forest fires, stating in March 2015. For 11 months, they enjoyed the nice air from Indonesia and they never thanked us. They have suffered because of the haze for one month and they get upset.” 

During the 2015 Southeast Asian haze crisis in September, Kalla restated a similar position, while further questioning “why should there be an apology” from Indonesia. It was also noted that Kalla had made similar comments between 2005 and 2007 during his first term in the vice presidency.

10. Currently, Kalla serves as the chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross Society

His career after the vice presidency has included many community activities. On 22 December 2009, he was elected as chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross Society. 

Kalla said that under his leadership the PMI would build up stocks in the national blood bank to prepare for any increased demand for blood by hospital patients and victims of natural disasters.