Jusuf Kalla

Muhammad Jusuf Kalla (born 15 May 1942), commonly referred to by his initials JK, 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).

Kalla was born on 15 May 1942 in Watampone, now sits in South Sulawesi.

His parents were Hadji Kalla, a local businessman and Athirah, a woman who sold Buginese silk for a living.

He was the second of 10 children.

After completing school, Kalla attended Hasanuddin University in Makassar.

At university he became active in the Indonesian Student Action Front (KAMI), a student organization which supported General Suharto in his bid to gain power from President Sukarno.

Kalla was elected as chair of South Sulawesi branch of KAMI.

He showed interest in a political career, becoming a member of the Regional People's Representative Council (DPRD) and chairman of the Youth Division of Golkar when it was still organised under a Joint Secretariat (Sekretariat Bersama or Sekber) format.

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 (hotels, infrastructure construction, car dealerships, aerobridges, shipping, real estate, transportation, a shrimp farm, oil palm, and telecommunications).

In addition to being CEO of NV Hadji Kalla, Kalla was also CEO of various subsidiaries of the firm.

In 1977, Kalla graduated from INSEAD, an international business school in Fontainebleau, south of Paris.

"NV Hadji Kalla" is now known as the Kalla Group and is one of the leading business groups in Indonesia, especially in Eastern Indonesia.

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 (ISEI) in Makassar (known as Ujung Pandang at the time) and continues to be an adviser for ISEI.

Kalla was extensively involved with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN).

From 1985 to 1998 he was chairman for KADIN in South Sulawesi and was 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 centre.

Kalla returned to active politics in 1987 when he was appointed to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) as a regional representative for South Sulawesi.

He was re-appointed to the MPR in 1992, 1997, and 1999.

When Kyai Haji Abdurrahman Wahid (often known as Gus Dur) was elected as president by the MPR in 1999, Kalla was included in the cabinet and became Minister of Industry and Trade.

He had only been a minister for six months when in April 2000 Wahid removed him along with the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises.

Wahid accused both Kalla and minister Laksamana of corruption, although he never produced evidence to support the charge, and Kalla denied the allegations.

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.

He was unsuccessful as Golkar's presidential nominee in the 2009 presidential election.

Since 2009 Kalla serves as the chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross Society.

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.

In 2015, the Jusuf Kalla School of Government at Muhammadiyah University of Yogyakarta was established, with the school being funded by Kalla.

Kalla is seen in The Act of Killing film praising Pancasila Youth and encouraging them to commit violence.