Irwandi Yusuf

Irwandi Yusuf (born 2 August 1960) is an Indonesian politician who was the governor of Aceh.

Irwandi Yusuf, a veterinarian (Alumnus of Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh), joined the Free Aceh Movement in 1990, participating for three years before taking up a scholarship at Oregon State University, US, in 1993, where he undertook a master's degree in Veterinary Science.

After returning to Banda Aceh to teach at his alma mater, Irwandi became a founding member of the Acehnese branch of the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society (now known as Fauna and Flora International), lending his veterinary expertise to their conservation campaigns.

He spent some time in 2001 with the Red Cross, taking the opportunity to study humanitarian law.

Irwandi was arrested in 2003 and interned in the Keudah Prison in Banda Aceh.

Irwandi was in his jail cell when the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake struck.

The epicenter of the quake was close to the Acehnese coastline.

The population of Aceh before the December 2004 tsunami was 4,271,000, and as of 15 September 2005 was 4,031,589; a discrepancy of 239,411 lives.

170,000 people were confirmed dead.

As the tsunami's waters rose inside the prison, Irwandi fled to the Musholla (prayer room) on the second floor while walls crumbled around him.

His only means of escape was to punch a hole through the asbestos ceiling, scramble onto the roof, and hang on until the tsunami abated.

Out of the prison population of 278, Irwandi was one of just 40 survivors.

In the aftermath of the tsunami, the Free Aceh Movement and the Indonesian central command negotiated a peace settlement, and Irwandi renounced his separatist agenda.

No longer in conflict with the Indonesian government, the former rebel liaised with the international non-governmental organizations whose presence paved the way for Aceh's first democratic election in almost 30 years.

It was a major victory for Irwandi, who won 39.3% of the popular vote, as announced by Public Issue Network and Indonesian Survey Circle.

Irwandi first won a term as governor in the 2006 Aceh regional election as an independent candidate (non-party).

Muhammad Nazar, S. Ag. was his running mate in 2006.

He took office on 8 February 2007 and established a normal relationship with the army that once pursued him as a Free Aceh Movement rebel.

In an unusual move for a former revolutionary, he kept much of the old administration in place although he also moved to reform a range of positions in the senior ranks of the provincial public service.

In a 2007 New York Times interview, Irwandi said, "I tell them, 'I believe, I trust you all. You are all trustworthy until you prove otherwise. Then I will know.'" In the same interview, he remarked that his former enemies in the cabinet were welcome to 'rock and roll' with him – "Rock and roll... That means to do something new, rocky, that was never felt before. It is spirit. Spirited people. Young blood. Young spirit."

However Irwandi lost his 2012 re-election campaign to Zaini Abdullah following a strong challenge and intensive campaigning by other local political rivals.

Allegations that he may have wrongfully granted land concessions involving previously protected high conservation value land to palm oil companies also surfaced before the campaign.

His first term expired on 8 February 2012, and later he lost his reelection run against Zaini Abdullah.

He was re-elected Governor in early 2017 after serving an earlier term between 2006 and 2012.

In 2017, he was reelected as the Governor of Aceh, with Nova Iriansyah as his partner.

In 2018, the former Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM) leader was the second Aceh governor implicated in a corruption case after Abdullah Puteh, who was sentenced to 10 years for graft surrounding the procurement of an MI-2 Rostov helicopter worth US$872,500.

Irwandi was arrested along with Bener Meriah Regent Ahmadi and eight other individuals on corruption charges.

In 2018, the former Free Aceh Movement leader was the second Aceh governor implicated in a corruption case after Abdullah Puteh, who was sentenced to 10 years for graft surrounding the procurement of an MI-2 Rostov helicopter worth US$872,500.

Irwandi was arrested along with Bener Meriah Regent Ahmadi and eight other individuals following a suspicious transaction involving provincial and regency officials, according to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Since Irwandi was caught red-handed by the KPK, he started to lose supports from Acehnese people.

In the past, his concern for Acehnese socio-political issues led him into further contact with the Free Aceh Movement.

He held several different positions in the movement, including as a special staff office for psychological warfare in the Central Free Aceh Movement command, as negotiation coordinator, and as Expert Staff on counter-intelligence in the Central Command of the Aceh National Army.

In July 2018, he was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission, after allegedly having been caught red-handed receiving bribes.

On April 8, 2019, Yusuf was sentenced to seven years in prison for accepting bribes from Ahmadi totaling Rp 1.05 billion (US$74,084) in exchange for granting number of infrastructure projects in the regency.

He was also found to have accepted Rp 8.7 billion in gratuities from businessmen during his two terms as governor.

He was sentenced to seven years' prison on 8 April 2019, and upon appeal his sentence was increased to eight years.

The Supreme Court of Indonesia reset his sentence to seven years on 13 February 2020.

He was released on parole in October 2022.

He remained the chairman of the Aceh Nanggroe Party during his sentence, and upon his parole he resumed his political activities.

One of Irwandi's declared priorities was the protection of Aceh's magnificent rainforest.