Fadli Zon (born 1 June 1971) is an Indonesian politician, presently serving as a member of the People's Representative Council, where he was previously Deputy Speaker from 2014 to 2019. He was one of the founders of Prabowo Subianto's Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), where he is vice chairman.
Fadli was one of the most vocal critics of President Joko Widodo during the president's first term, from 2014 to 2019, but he toned down his criticism after Gerindra joined the ruling coalition for Widodo's second term.
Early life and education
Fadli was born in Jakarta on 1 June 1971, the eldest of three children of Zon Harjo and Ellyda Yatim, both from Minangkabau in West Sumatra. His father died when Fadli was a teenager.
Growing up in Cisarua, Bogor, Fadli attended Cibeureum 3 State Elementary School. From 1984 to 1986, he attended State Junior High School 1 Cisarua in Gadog, Bogor, before moving to Fajar Jakarta Junior High School (1986–1987). Subsequently, he attended State Senior High School 31 Jakarta in East Jakarta for two years (1987–1989), before receiving a scholarship from American Field Service to study from 1989 to 1990 at Harlandale High School in San Antonio, Texas, the United States, where he graduated summa cum laude.
Later, Fadli studied Russian literature at the University of Indonesia. He was active in various organizations, both on and off campus. He chaired the Student Senate Education Bureau of the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Letters (FSUI) from 1992 to 1993. He was General Secretary of the FSUI Student Senate (1993) and chaired the Student Senate Committee on External Relations (1993–1994). He was also a member of the university's Literary Theater. Off campus, he was Secretary General and President of the Indonesian Students Association for International Studies (ISAFIS) from 1993 to 1995. He was on the central committee of the Indonesian National Youth Committee (KNPI) from 1996 to 1999, as well as the central committee of the Islamic Youth Movement (1996–1999), and was a member of the Asian Conference on Religion and Peace (ACRP) in 1996.
In 1994, Fadli was named Mawapres I (Student Achievement I for most outstanding student) of the University of Indonesia and Student Achievement III at the national level. In the same year, he led the Indonesian student delegation at the ASEAN Varsities Debate IV in Malaysia.
In 2002, he attended the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) under the guidance of John Harriss and Robert Wade. He received a Master's of Science (M.Sc) in Development Studies from LSE. In 2016, he earned a doctoral degree from the Department of History, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, University of Indonesia.
Journalism career
While still a student, from 1990 to 1991, Fadli contributed to two Islam-oriented publications, Tabloid IQRA, which had been known for publishing derogatory statements on Hinduism, and Suara Hidayatullah magazine. He had been invited to contribute to the publications by journalist Dzikrullah W. Pramudya, one of his former high school classmates. Fadli's first article, an interview with Lukman Harun of the Muhammadiyah Muslim organization, was published by Tabloid IQRA. In 1990–91, Fadli also wrote for two youth-oriented magazines, Nona and Hai. In 1991, he contributed to Harian Terbit daily newspaper. From 1992 to 1994, he was an editor of Gema Angkatan 45, a politics magazine.
In 1993, he joined the editorial board of Horison literary magazine. From 1995 to 1996, he was an editor of fortnightly political news magazine Tajuk. In 1997, he became chief editor of Visi journal. In 2007, he joined the editorial board of Tani Merdeka magazine, and in 2011 he was editor-in-chief of Tabloid Gema Indonesia Raya.
Political career
After graduating in 1997, Fadli was appointed to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), at that time the nation's top legislative assembly, as a representative of youth groups. In March 1998, the MPR unanimously re-elected then-president Suharto for a seventh term, despite rising anti-government protests throughout the country. After Suharto was forced to resign in May 1998, the country held free elections in 1999, after which Fadli lost his seat in the MPR.
Following the fall of Suharto, Fadli was one of the founders of the Islam-based Crescent Star Party and briefly became one of its chairmen, but he resigned in 2001.