Muhaimin Iskandar

Abdul Muhaimin Iskandar (born 24 September 1966), also colloquially known as Cak Imin or Gus Imin, is an Indonesian politician, serving as a Deputy Speaker of the People's Representative Council since 2019, and the chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB) since 2005.

Iskandar was born on 24 September 1966 in the town of Jombang, East Java.

His father Muhammad Iskandar was a teacher in the Mamba'ul Ma'arif Pesantren.

His mother Muhasonah Iskandar later became the leader of the pesantren.

Iskandar's paternal great-grandfather was Bisri Syamsuri, an ulama who was known as the father of Hasyim Asy'ari (also ulama), the founder of Nahdlatul Ulama and one of the few Indonesians who studied under Ahmad Khatib Al-Minangkabawi, along with Ahmad Dahlan (founder of Muhammadiyah) and Zakaria bin Muhammad Amin (founder of Al-Khairiyah Islamic Boarding School and MDTA Mahbatul Ulum).

Since childhood, he was close to later president Abdurrahman Wahid, better known as Gus Dur.

According to Muhaimin, he knew Gus Dur as a teacher and a peanut vendor, and that Gus Dur had taught him to play football.

Iskandar completed his middle school equivalent in a state-funded madrasa in his hometown (Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri Jombang), graduating in 1982.

Hence, in 1984 the organization withdrew from practical politics.

According to Iskandar, he was once interrogated alongside his entire class in Madrasah Tsanawiyah when they discussed Suharto's wealth.

He continued his education in Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 1 Yogyakarta (high-school equivalent) from which he graduated in 1985.

During these two periods, he also taught in the pesantren where his dad was teacher.

Enrolling at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta in 1985, he studied in the university's social science and political science faculty.

He entered politics during the fall of president Suharto during the late 1990's.

His thesis was titled Perilaku Kapitalis Masyarakat Santri: Telaah Sosiologi tentang Etos Kerja Masyarakat Desa di Jawa Timur (Capitalistic Behavior of Santri: Sociological Study on East Java's Rural Population Work Ethic), and he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1992.

During and after his studies, he was part of several student organizations, the Pergerakan Mahasiswa Islam Indonesia (Indonesian Islamic Students' Movement) in which he served as president between 1994 and 1997, social sciences students' corps leader (1989) and member of his faculty's student council (1990) in addition to being Yogyakarta branch president of PMII (1990–1991).

He was also member of Komite Nasional Pemuda Indonesia (Indonesian Youths' National Committee) in which he served as vice president of the Yogyakarta branch.

During his studies, he was introduced to figures such as Tjahjo Kumolo (then president of KNPI) and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Before entering politics, Iskandar worked in several organizations including between and during his university studies.

After concluding his studies he moved to Jakarta and worked at the Institute for Islamic and Social Studies as a secretary, Lembaga Pendapat Umum (Public Opinion Institute, founded by Gus Dur) as the research division head, and became active in ForumDemokrasi which was a harsh critic of then-president Suharto.

Later, him and Eros Djarot founded the Detik tabloid, in which he served as the chief for research and development until the publication was censured.

He also briefly worked at Helen Keller International.

The New Order government, under Suharto, made the Nahdlatul Ulama part of the United Development Party and constrained the presence of Islam in politics while promoting its cultural presence.

During the Asian financial crisis, Iskandar had served as the president of the PMII since 1994.

The Nahdlatul Ulama appointed him as part of an assistance team to form the National Awakening Party.

Iskandar's role was to prepare the party's articles of association.

He resumed his education in the University of Indonesia, studying communications management starting in 1998.

Previously, he served as Deputy Speaker of the People's Representative Council from 1999 until 2009, the Minister of Manpower from 2009 until 2014, and the Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly from 2018 until 2019.

He is running as a vice presidential candidate in the 2024 Indonesian presidential election, as the running mate of Anies Baswedan.

Born in Jombang, East Java, he was educated at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) and the University of Indonesia (UI).

He was elected a member of the People's Representative Council in 1999, as a member of the National Awakening Party (PKB).

After working in several organizations, his government career started when he was elected into and became deputy speaker of the People's Representative Council (DPR) in 1999 until 2009.

His thesis was titled Manajemen Hubungan Masyarakat Partai Kebangkitan Bangsa dalam Pemilu 1999 (Public Relations Management of the National Awakening Party in the 1999 Election).

He graduated in 2001 with a master's degree.

He was close to president and PKB founder Abdurrahman Wahid, and was elected the PKB's chairman in 2005.

He later also served as the Minister of Labor and Transmigration between 2009 and 2014, under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

He has been elected as a member of DPR five times, although he only served four full terms.

During the anniversary of Gus Dur's death in 2016, Iskandar described in an editorial on Tempo magazine about his father who buried an abangan Muslim, illustrating him as an example of humane behavior.

Muhaimin added that the writing "made his father famous".

He and Gus Dur are distantly related, with Iskandar often being described as Gus Dur's nephew.