Syamsuddin Mahmud (24 April 1935 – 22 May 2021) was an Indonesian economist and politician. He served as the Governor of Aceh from 1993 until 1998 and from 1998 until 2000.
Early life
Syamsuddin Mahmud was born on 24 April 1935 at Lampoh Lada village, a small locality in the regency of Pidie, Aceh. During his childhood, Syamsuddin was known as a persistent reciter of the Quran, reciting a minimum of two pages of the Quran every day. He also visited surau regularly to attend Quran reciting lectures.
Syamsuddin's parents were late to enroll him in elementary school due to the Japanese occupation of Aceh during World War II. As a result, his education lagged behind other schoolchildren of the same age. However, within several years, Syamsuddin managed to catch up and skipped the 5th grade, allowing him to progress along with other students of his age.
After graduating from primary school, Syamsuddin entered junior high school in Sigli. Syamsuddin then migrated to Jakarta after finishing his junior high school education. However, he was told to take a junior high school re-examination before applying for high school. He then finished high school and entered the University of Indonesia. While studying in the university, Syamsuddin formed a Malay orchestra group with Ibrahim Hassan—later Governor of Aceh—as one of its members. He also briefly played for the Persija Jakarta football team. He graduated from the university with an undergraduate degree in economics in 1963.
Career
After graduating from the University of Indonesia, Syamsuddin returned to Aceh and became a lecturer at the Syiah Kuala University. He then moved to Belgium for a decade-long tenure as a lecturer and obtained a doctorate in economics from Ghent University in 1975. He came back to Aceh shortly thereafter and was appointed an assistant to the rector of the Syiah Kuala University.
Syamsuddin became the dean of the economics faculty of the university from 1977 until 1981. He was made a professor in economics six years later.
Governor of Aceh
Election
1993 gubernatorial election
After Governor of Aceh Ibrahim Hassan was appointed a minister in Suharto's cabinet, the office of the governor of Aceh became vacant. There were two candidates for this election: Syamsuddin and Usman Hasan, a member of the People's Representative Council.
The competition between the two was described by political observers as a fight between "moths and elephants". Although Syamsuddin had held a provincial-level office for about a decade, he did not publicly appear very often and was overshadowed by the flamboyant and loud Ibrahim Hassan. Meanwhile, Usman Hasan was the leader of the Golkar party—the ruling party at that time—in the parliament and was described as a "national-level figure" by the Acehnese. Usman was rumored to be supported by the government at that time.
The two candidates were backed by different factions. Syamsuddin was backed by Ibrahim Hassan himself and Minister of Logistics Bustanil Arifin, while Usman was backed by the Central Executive Council of the Golkar party and Minister of Research B. J. Habibie. However, Ibrahim Hassan reportedly later gathered leaders of various groups in the Aceh parliament in the governor's residence and stated that President Suharto had endorsed Syamsuddin for the governor's office. Although Ibrahim Hassan later denied holding such meeting, the Usman faction also claimed that they had been endorsed by Suharto. Eventually, the Golkar and Armed Forces groups, the two largest groups in Aceh's parliament, decided to endorse Syamsuddin.
At the parliamentary gubernatorial election held on 13 May 1993, Syamsuddin won the election with 26 votes. The other candidate, Usman Hasan, obtained 12 votes, while a sham candidate named Malik Ridwan Badai obtained three votes. Syamsuddin was sworn in as governor on 26 May 1993.
1998 gubernatorial election
At the end of his first term as governor, Syamsuddin sought re-election and was put forward as a candidate for governor. He managed to win the election held in April 1998 with 25 votes, with his main opponent Abdullah Puteh obtaining 17 votes and sham candidate Asnawi Hasjmy 3 votes. However, after three months, Syamsuddin had still not been sworn in for his second term, sparking allegations that President B. J. Habibie—Suharto's successor—intentionally delayed confirming the election results. Syamsuddin was finally sworn in for his second term on 19 June 1998.