Budi Arie Setiadi

Budi Arie Setiadi (born 20 April 1969) is an Indonesian politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle who became the Minister of Communication and Informatics on 17 July 2023.

He became a minister after the previous minister, Johny G. Plate was involved in a corruption case.

Budi Arie Setiadi was born in Jakarta on 20 April 1969, the son of Joko Asmoro and Pudji Astuti.

He grew up and spent most of his childhood in Jakarta.

He began his formal education at the Fons Vitae II Elementary School in North Jakarta and graduated from the same school's junior high school.

He then continued his education at Canisius College High School in Central Jakarta in 1988 and graduated in 1990.

Upon completing high school, Budi began studying communications at the University of Indonesia.

Budi participated in various student organizations, such as student press, sports communities, and student political organizations.

He was nicknamed Muni during his time at the university.

In journalistics, Setiadi became the chief editor of UI's student magazine, Suara Mahasiswa, from 1993 until 1994.

Budi was also involved in organizing protests against the policies of UI's rector at that time.

Budi's frequent appearance in protest caught the attention of his dean, who often asked him when he would graduate.

He served as Chairman of the Student Representative Council (BPM) of UI's Social and Political Sciences Faculty (FISIP) in 1994, as well as a presidium member of UI's student senate from 1994 until 1995.

Budi was involved in establishing the UI Student Study Forum (FSM) and was actively involved in the UI Student Defender Group (KPM).

He had already completed his classes by 1994, but it took him several years to complete his thesis.

Budi began to work as a journalist at the Media Indonesia weekly in 1994.

He eventually graduated and received a bachelor's degree in communication in 1996.

Budi continued his postgraduate studies in social development management at UI's Faculty of Economics and Business.

He later founded the Kontan business weekly alongside several colleagues in 1996.

Due to his activist background, Budi's newspaper often included harsh criticism against businesspeople.

He was warned by Kompas Gramedia founder Jakob Oetama for his harsh reporting.

Budi was involved in the protests that occurred during the Fall of Suharto in 1998.

Budi joined the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) in the early 2000s.

He worked as a journalist for the publication until 2001.

He then moved to the Mandiri Telekomunikasi Utama company, where he became its president director from 2001 until 2009.

He was elected chairman of UI's alumni association that year and served until 2001.

He later founded the Jakarta Scholar Movement (GSJ) and Indonesian Professional Society (MPI).

He was immediately appointed to head the party's research and development department from 2005 until 2010.

He completed his postgraduate studies in 2006.

Budi also served as General Manager of Bangsa Tabloid from 2008 to 2009.

In 2009, he was nominated by the party for a seat in the People's Representative Council from the Jakarta III electoral district but was not elected.

He then became the deputy chairman of PDIP in Jakarta.

Budi also led several non-media companies, such as Daya Mandiri from 2010, NKR Investama, Sarana Global Informasi, and Miitra Lumina Indonesia.

Budi established Projo, an organization consisting pro-Joko Widodo volunteers, in August 2013.

Setiadi was previously the Deputy Minister of Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, and Transmigration and a leading member of President Joko Widodo's campaign team in 2014 and 2019.

The organization became a major contributor to Joko Widodo's 2014 presidential campaign and was regarded as a key organization that led Joko Widodo to victory in the 2014 Indonesian presidential election.

Projo was reactivated for the 2019 Indonesian general election and saw Joko Widodo's victory in the same election.

On 29 May 2022, Budi was elected as Chairman of UI's Social and Political Sciences Faculty alumni association.

Three days after Joko Widodo's inauguration on 20 October 2019, he announced his cabinet lineup.

Joko Widodo's new cabinet included his opponent in the election, Prabowo Subianto, as his minister, sparking protest from Projo members.