Abdurrahman Wahid

Biographical Overview & Key Facts

Subject:

Abdurrahman Wahid

Role / Field:

Influential Indonesian politician, Islamic leader, and fourth President known for pluralism.

Born:

1940-09-07

Died:

2009-12-30

Century / Era:

1940s Historical Era

Database Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Origins & Early Life

Abdurrahman Wahid ( AHB-doo-RAHKH-mahn wah-HEED; Indonesian: [abduˌrahman ˈwahid]; né ad-Dakhil, 7 September 1940 – 30 December 2009), more colloquially known as Gus Dur (Indonesian: [ˌɡʊs ˈdʊr] ), was an Indonesian politician and Islamic religious leader who served as the fourth president of Indonesia, from his election in 1999 until he was removed from office in 2001. A long time leader within the Nahdlatul Ulama organization, he was the founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB). He also received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his services to democratization and human rights in Indonesia. He was the son of former Minister of Religious Affairs Wahid Hasyim, and the grandson of Nahdatul Ulama founder Hasyim Asy'ari. Due to a visual impairment caused by glaucoma, he was blind in the left eye and roughly 80% blind in his right eye.

Career & Major Achievements

He was the first (and to date only) president of Indonesia to have had physical disabilities. Wahid was instrumental in lifting the ban on Chinese New Year (Indonesian: Imlek). Until 1998, the spiritual practice to celebrate the Chinese New Year by Chinese families was restricted specifically only inside of Chinese community centers, a restriction made by the New Order government through Presidential Instruction No. 14 of 1967 signed by Suharto. On 17 January 2000, Abdurrahman issued Presidential Decree No. 6 of 2000 to annul the previous instruction. He established Confucianism as the sixth official religion in Indonesia in 2000 and protected minority rights in Indonesia.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

As a result, Abdurrahman was given the title "Father of Pluralism". His popular nickname 'Gus Dur' is derived from Gus, a common honorific for a son of kyai, and from the short-form of bagus ('handsome lad' in Javanese); and Dur, short-form of his name, Abdurrahman. Abdurrahman ad-Dakhil was born on the fourth day of the Sha'ban, the eighth month of the Islamic calendar in 1940 in Jombang, to Abdul Wahid Hasyim and Siti Sholehah. This led to a belief that he was born on 4 August; instead, using the Islamic calendar to mark his birth date meant that he was actually born on 4 Sha'aban, equivalent to 7 September 1940 in the Gregorian calendar. He was named after Abd ar-Rahman I of the Umayyad Caliphate who brought Islam to Spain and was thus nicknamed "ad-Dakhil" ("the conqueror").

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1940 (1940-09-07): Birth of Abdurrahman Wahid — Influential Indonesian politician, Islamic leader, and fourth President known for pluralism.
2. 1998: 1998 Milestone — Until 1998, the spiritual practice to celebrate the Chinese New Year by Chinese families was restricted specifically only inside of Chinese community centers, a restriction made by the New Order government through Presidential Instruction No.
3. 2000: 2000 Milestone — On 17 January 2000, Abdurrahman issued Presidential Decree No.
4. 2009 (2009-12-30): Passing & Historical Legacy — Abdurrahman Wahid passed away on 2009-12-30, leaving an enduring historical legacy.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Abdurrahman Wahid

True or False: “Abdurrahman Wahid was the first president of Indonesia to have had physical disabilities.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While he was the first president with a visible disability, the text does not state that this fact alone makes it historically unique in terms of presidency.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Abdurrahman Wahid