1. Ginandjar Kartasasmita served a five-year term as Speaker of Indonesia Regional Representative Council.
16 Facts About Ginandjar Kartasasmita
1. 2.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita has been active in politics since the 1970s when he sat in Suharto's cabinet.
3.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita has always called himself a nationalist, due to the influence of his parents who were both National Party of Indonesia activists before World War II.
4.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita has been attacked as a part of the New Order, but argued that his membership in the cabinet was professional.
5.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita commented, "I'm a part of the system, but I'm a professional in the cabinet".
6.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita played a role in encouraging Suharto to resign in May 1998 when he and other ministers refused to sit in the Development Reform Cabinet to be formed by president Suharto.
7.
In October 2004, Ginandjar Kartasasmita was elected the first speaker of the newly formed DPD.
8.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita won 72 of 128 votes in a run-off against Irman Gusman, who together with La Ode Ida became his deputies.
9.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita completed his five-year term on 1 October 2009 and was succeeded by Irman Gusman.
10.
In late March 2001, state prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Ginandjar Kartasasmita for alleged corruption that caused state losses of $24.8 million.
11.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita's arrest was delayed because he was hospitalized for tests on his stomach.
12.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita was arrested on 6 April 2001 at a Jakarta hospital and held at the detention center at the Attorney General's Office compound.
13.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita denied any wrongdoing and said his arrest was politically motivated and ordered by then-president Abdurrahman Wahid.
14.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita challenged the arrest warrant and tried to sue the Attorney General's Office for wrongful arrest.
15.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita was a suspect in a case involving PT Ustraindo Petro Gas, a company owned by Suharto's middle son Bambang Trihatmodjo and state oil and gas firm Pertamina.
16.
Ginandjar Kartasasmita was the mines and energy minister when Pertamina paid for Ustraindo's costs in developing four oil fields, whereas Ustraindo was contractually required to cover the costs.