Zaini Abdullah

Zaini Abdullah (24 April 1940 – 13 June 2026) was an Indonesian politician and separatist activist of the Free Aceh Movement (or GAM, Gerakan Aceh Merdeka) who was elected as the governor of the province of Aceh in the 2012 election for a five-year period from 2012 to 2017. Elected with 56% of the vote, Zaini Abdullah is the second governor directly chosen by the electors of Aceh since the granting of restricted autonomy to the area by the Indonesian government in 2005. His predecessor Irwandi Yusuf, who was elected in 2006 for the period from 2007 to 2012, was the first governor chosen in the province by direct elections. Abdullah was sworn into office as governor in a ceremony held in conjunction with a plenary session of the Aceh Provincial Legislative Assembly (DPRA or Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Aceh) in Banda Aceh, 25 June 2012. The ceremony and other official arrangements were, however, marred by a personal assault on the former governor, Irwandi Yusuf, by supporters of the new governor and by a grenade attack earlier in the day at the house of a local GAM leader.