11 Facts About Zaini Abdullah

Zaini Abdullah was sworn into office as governor in a ceremony held in conjunction with a plenary session of the Aceh Provincial Legislative Assembly in Banda Aceh, 25 June 2012.

Zaini Abdullah was born in Beureunun in the Pidie District, Aceh in 1940.

Zaini Abdullah's father, Tengku H Abdullah Hanafiah, was a supporter of Daud Beureueh, a prominent leader in Aceh during the 1950s and 1960s and into the 1970s.

Zaini Abdullah later practised as a medical specialist in Aceh and North Sumatra in various areas:.

In 1976, when the GAM declared their open opposition to Jakarta central government policies in Aceh, Zaini Abdullah joined with the GAM and became a close adviser to Hasan di Tiro, the founder of the GAM.

In 1981, Zaini followed Hasan di Tiro to live in Sweden, travelling through Medan and Singapore.

Zaini Abdullah is a co-founder and former foreign minister of the GAM while his running mate in the 2012 elections, Muzakir Manaf, was a GAM guerrilla commander.

At the time of their election, Zaini Abdullah was aged 72 while Manaf, aged 39, represented the next generation of GAM activists.

Zaini Abdullah has spent close to one-third of his life supporting the activities of the GAM, including during the lengthy period when he lived in exile in Sweden along with chief GAM patron, Hasan di Tiro, who died in Aceh in June 2010.

Zaini Abdullah said that he wished to see more attention given to the implementation of the provisions of the Helsinki MOU, signed in August 2005, which brought reconciliation in Aceh between the GAM and the Indonesian Government.

Also during the early part of 2013, Zaini Abdullah was faced with a range of issues arising from activism in the Aceh provincial parliament.