Joko Widodo

He is married to Iriana and has three children: two sons Gibran Rakabuming Raka and Kaesang Pangarep, and one daughter Kahiyang Ayu.

He was born on 21 June 1961 Surakarta, Indonesia, to Noto Mihardjo and Sudjiatmi Notomihardjo. He has three younger sisters. His family lived in illegally built shacks and was often evicted from their dwelling by the government.

He received his primary education from the State Primary School 111, Tirtoyoso, which was a school especially meant for the poorer sections of the society. He also started working in his father’s furniture workshop when he was 12 in order to earn money to buy school supplies. In spite of all his difficulties he performed well at school.

After completing his high school he enrolled at the Forestry Faculty of Gadjah Mada University where he studied the structure of wood, its utilization, and its technology. He graduated in 1985.

He found a job with BUMN PT Kertas Kraft Aceh and was placed in Pinus merkusii forest plantation at Gayo Highlands. But he was not happy with this job and wanted to start his own business.

He founded his own business under the name of CV Rakabu in 1988. Even though it was initially successful it had to be closed down due to fraud. Not the one to accept defeat so soon, he re-established his business and by 2002 became a very successful furniture exporter. He also served as the chairman of a local branch of the country’s influential furniture manufacturers’ association.

In 2005, he decided to enter politics and ran for the office of mayor in Surakarta as a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. Initially people viewed him with skepticism as he was primarily a businessman with no political connections.

He won the elections and soon proved his detractors wrong by initiating many progressive reforms in the city. As the mayor he earned much respect for his progressive reforms and his honesty which distinguished him from other politicians. He developed a rapport with the people as he had risen to this post from an underprivileged background, and thus could connect with people from all sections of the society.

He often visited poor neighborhoods to interact with the people and refused to accept a salary for his public service. This greatly enhanced his reputation as a genuine person who cared about the public. He easily won the re-election in 2010 with over 90 percent of the vote and was made the mayor for a second term.

After becoming the governor of Jakarta, he introduced a universal health care program, based on ‘Healthy Jakarta Card’. The scheme proved to be very popular.