Soekarwo

Soekarwo (born 16 June 1950 in Madiun), better known by his nickname Pakde Karwo or Uncle Karwo, is an Indonesian politician and the current Governor of East Java.

Biography

Soekarwo ended his education in State Elementary School Palur (1962), State Junior High School 2 Ponorogo (1965), and Social Senior High School Madiun (1969). He obtained his master's degree in Law at Universitas Airlangga (Surabaya) in (1979), and subsequently his law abschluss at the University of Surabaya (1996), and his doctorate at Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang (2004).

Governorship

When East Java held a gubernatorial election in 2008, Soekarwo announced his candidacy and was supported by Partai Amanat Nasional (PAN) and Partai Demokrat (Democratic Party). His running-mate was Saifullah Yusuf or Gus Ipul, a former minister in President Yudhoyono's cabinet. The election was interesting. Soekarwo won the first round with 26% votes, but because no candidate won over 30%, a second round had to be held. Soekarwo won again but with a closer margin. His rival, Khofifah, demanded a new round after alleged election fraud. A third round was held and was again won by Soekarwo. Finally, Soekarwo was sworn in on February where supposedly he has sworn in before new year.

Now, he is running for re-election in the 2013 gubernatorial election. After many speculations about his running mate, Soekarwo announced that Saifullah Yusuf would again be his running-mate for this second term.

References

• Profil singkat Soekarwo - Saifullah Yusuf di Kompas Online