Idham Chalid


Idham Chalid was an Indonesian politician and minister. Apart from being a politician, he was active in religious activities and served as the second chairman of the Nahdlatul Ulama.

Career

After graduating from an Islamic teaching college, Idham worked as a teacher at Islamic institutes from 1943-1945. He joined the Masyumi organization in 1944, and served in the Indonesian Navy in 1947. After working in local government, in 1950 he became a member of the People's Representative Council. After a short period as secretary general of the Nahdlatul Ulama, in 1956 he became chairman, a position he held until 1984. In March 1956, he was appointed second deputy prime minister in the Second Ali Sastroamidjojo Cabinet, and four years later became deputy chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly.
Following the fall of President Sukarno, he served in the Ampera Cabinet and Revised Ampera Cabinet as minister of people's welfare from July 1966 until June 1968. He was reappointed to the First Development Cabinet as state minister for people's welfare. From 1972 to 1977, he was both speaker of the People's Representative Council and chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly.

National Hero

Idham died in Cipete, South Jakarta on 11 July 2010 ten years after suffering a stroke. He was buried in the grounds of the Darul Qur`an Islamic Boarding School complex in Cisarua, Bogor. He was named a National Hero of Indonesia based on 113/TK/Tahun Presidential Decree No. 2011 dated 7 November 2011.
Following the issuance of Presidential Decree No. 31 of 5 September 2016, Bank Indonesia introduced seven new banknote designs featuring national heroes. Idham Chalid's face is featured on the obverse of the Rp 5,000 banknote.