User:The man from Gianyar/Abdurrahman Wahid

Abdurrahman Wahid (born Abdurrahman ad-Dakhil; 7 September 1940 – 30 December 2009), though more colloquially known as Gus Dur, was an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the 4th President of Indonesia, from his election in 1999 until his removal from power in 2001. A long time leader within the Nahdlatul Ulama organization, he was the founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB). He was the son of Minister of Religious Affairs Wahid Hasyim, and the grandson of Nahdatul Ulama founder Hasyim Asy'ari.

Born in the small town of Denanyar, Jombang, East Java. He attended Al-Azhar University in Egypt, before receiving another scholarship to study at the University of Baghdad in 1967. He graduated from Baghdad in 1970, and returned to Indonesia in 1971. He joined the Faculty of Hasyim Asy'ari University Tebuireng, before becoming the secretary of the Jombang Tebu Ireng pesantren in 1974. In 1984, Wahid was elected Chairman of the Executive Council of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) by acclamation, and he served until 1999. During his tenure, he withdrew the NU from the United Development Party (PPP). Contributing to their massive losses in the 1987 Indonesian legislative election.

Following the fall of Suharto, Wahid formed the National Awakening Party (PKB), which initially became an important ally to Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and a major opposition to president B. J. Habibie. In June 1999, Wahid's PKB entered the legislative elections, winning 12% of he vote, to Megawati's 33%. However, in the 1999 indirect presidential election, Wahid, with the support a coalition of Muslim parties known as the Central Axis, defeated Megawati's PDI-P, and Wahid was inaugurated president. With Megawati serving as vice president...

In 2001, he was removed from office by the People's Consultative Assembly...

His presidency was also the second-shortest in Indonesian history, at only 642 days. Just above his predecessor, B. J. Habibie's 517 days in office...

Youth
Abdurrahman ad-Dakhil was born on 7 September 1940, in the small town of Denanyar, Jombang, East Java. He was named after Abd ar-Rahman I of the Umayyad Caliphate, who was nicknamed the "ad-Dakhil", which literally translates to "the conqueror". He was the oldest of five siblings, and was born to a prestigious family. His paternal grandfather, Hasyim Asy'ari, was an Ulama, National Hero, and founder of the Nahdatul Ulama. His father, Wahid Hasyim, would go on to serve as the first Minister of Religious Affairs under Sukarno. And his mother, Siti Sholehah, was the daughter of Ulama and politician, who would go on to serve as a member of the People's Representative Council. Growing up, he was taught the Quran by his paternal grandfather.

In 1944, Wahid moved from Jombang to the capital city of Jakarta, then-known as Batavia, because his father had been selected as the first chairman of the Consultative Council of Indonesian Muslims, an organization established by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Japanese occupation, which would eventually become the Masyumi Party. Following the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, he returned to Jombang, and he remained in the area during the Indonesian National Revolution.

Early education
He returned to Jakarta in 1949, when his father was reappointed Minister of Religious Affairs. He attended his primary education at SD KRIS, before transferring to SD perwari. Aside from his formal education, Wahid took private Dutch language lessons, with a private tutor named Willem Buhl, a German who had converted to Islam and changed his name to Iskandar. In April 1953, he and his father were involved in a collision with a truck in Cimindi. Though Wahid survived, his father died. His father's death left a deep scar in Wahid.

In 1954, he began his secondary education, but failed to graduate, and forced to repeat a grade. His mother then sent him to Yogyakarta, to continue his education. There, he finished his secondary education by graduating from SMEP Yogyakarta. He then moved to Magelang, and attended the Tegalrejo Pesantren. In 1959, he moved back to Jombang to attend the Tambakberas Pesantren, under the guidance of Kyai Wahab Chasbullah. There, he received his first job as a teacher, and later as the headmaster of an affiliated madrasah. Wahid also found employment as a journalist, working for magazines such as Horizon and Budaya Jaya.