Susi Pudjiastuti (born 15 January 1965) is an Indonesian entrepreneur who served as the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia under President Joko Widodo's 2014–2019 Working Cabinet.[1] She is also the owner of PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Product, a seafood export company, and PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation, which operates Susi Air charter airline.[2][3]

Susi Pudjiastuti
Official portrait, 2014
7th Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia
In office
27 October 2014 – 20 October 2019
PresidentJoko Widodo
Preceded bySharif Cicip Sutarjo
Succeeded byEdhy Prabowo
Personal details
Born (1965-01-15) 15 January 1965 (age 59)
Pangandaran, West Java, Indonesia
Children3
Parent(s)H. Ahmad Karlan (father)
Hj. Suwuh Lasminah (mother)
EducationSMA Negeri 1 Yogyakarta
Alma materDiponegoro University (Dr.h.c.)

Early life, family, and education

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Pudjiastuti was born 15 January 1965, in Pangandaran, West Java, the daughter of Haji Ahmad Karlan and Hajjah Suwuh Lasminah (1918–2013).[4] She is Javanese, but her family are fifth-generation settlers of Pangandaran, which is predominantly Sundanese. Her family business was engaged primarily in real estate and livestock farming.[5]

Following junior high school, Pudjiastuti continued senior high school at SMA Negeri 1 Yogyakarta, but did not complete her studies after she was expelled for political activism promoting Golput (Golongan Putih, or blank ballot in protest of the Golkar Party's dominance making Indonesia a One-party state), a movement which was banned under then President Suharto's New Order.[6] Pudjiastuti was the first Indonesian minister to have never completed a high school education,[7] although after she became a government minister, she enrolled for a late high school programme (Paket C), and she officially graduated in 2018.[8]

Pudjiastuti had three children; Panji Hilmansyah, Nadine Kaiser, and Alvy Xavier.[9] Her first son, Panji Hilmansyah, died aged 31 on 18 January 2016 in Naples, Florida due to heart failure.[10]

Entrepreneurship and Susi Air

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In 1983, Pudjiastuti embarked on a career as an entrepreneur, starting as a seafood distributor at a Fish Auction Facility (TPI) in Pangandaran.[11] Her distributorship evolved into a seafood processing plant in 1996 named PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Product, which specialised in export-quality lobsters packaged as 'Susi Brand'.[12] PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Product expanded, and began exporting its products to Asia and America.[13]

The growing demand for PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Product's fresh seafood lead to rapid air transport as a necessity for the business. In 2004, Pudjiastuti acquired a Cessna 208 Caravan, and established PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation. The Cessna was given the call-sign 'Susi Air', and was used to transport fresh Indonesian seafood to Jakarta, as well as overseas to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan.[14]

During the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami which devastated Aceh and the west coast of Sumatra, Susi Air, which at the time only consisted of two Cessna Grand Caravans, was one of the first responders which distributed food and supplies to victims in isolated areas of the disaster. During this period, Susi Air was routinely chartered in Aceh by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for humanitarian relief missions. The revenues earned from the NGO Aceh missions enabled Susi Air to acquire new aeroplanes, and expand its fleet to routes in Papua and Kalimantan. Susi Air is now the largest operator of Cessna Grand Caravans in the Asia Pacific region[15]

Appointment as Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries

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On 26 October 2014, President Joko Widodo appointed Pudjiastuti as Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries under his 2014–2019 working cabinet. Prior to accepting her appointment, Pudjiastuti relinquished her position as President Director of PT ASI Pudjiastuti Marine Product and PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation.[16]

She inherited an agency in danger of being eliminated. Foreign fishing boats regularly encroached on Indonesian waters surrounding the archipelago's 17,500 islands. She impounded hundreds of foreign fishing boats, and had them destroyed. Since taking office, most of the 10,000 foreign fishing boats preying on Indonesia's biodiversity have quit Indonesian waters. From 2013 to 2017, fishing stocks have more than doubled during her watch.[17][18] In April 2018, she ordered the interception and capture of the Andrey Dolgov, a notorious illegal fishing boat.[19]

On 16 September 2016, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) awarded her the Leaders for a Living Planet Award. This is in recognition of her efforts as Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in promoting sustainable development in the Indonesian fisheries sector and conservation of the marine ecosystem, as well as her fierce crackdown on illegal fishing in Indonesian waters.[20]

According to a study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, Susi's aggressive anti-illegal fishing policies have "reduced total fishing effort by at least 25%, (...) [potentially] generate a 14% increase in catch and a 12% increase in profit."[21]

Awards and honours

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References

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  1. ^ Schonhardt, Sara (4 December 2014). "A fish? A plane? What's the tattoo on Susi Pudjiastuti's leg?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  2. ^ Wedo, Henrykus F. Nuwa (1 May 2013). "Susi Air Bidik Pendapatan Rp400 Miliar Pada 2013". Industri.Bisnis.com. Industri Bisnis. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  3. ^ Widianto, Willy (26 October 2014). "Profil Menteri Kelautan dan Perikanan Susi Pudjiastuti". TribunNews.com. Tribune News. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  4. ^ Media, Kompas Cyber (1 November 2014). "Susi: Yang di Medsos Itu Foto Ibu Saya". KOMPAS.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  5. ^ Mengkaka, Blasius (11 November 2014). "Keuletan dan Ketekunan Bisa 'Mengalahkan' Fanatisme Pendidikan Budi Pekerti (Belajar Dari Sosok Menteri Susi Pudjiastuti)". edukasi.Kompasiana.com. Kompasiana. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  6. ^ Simanjuntak, Laurencius (27 October 2014). "Ini penyebab Menteri Susi Pudjiastuti cuma berijazah SMP". Merdeka.com. Merdeka. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  7. ^ Kurniawan, Aryo (27 October 2014). "Susi Pudjiastuti, Pengusaha Sukses Tak Lulus SMA Bisa Jadi Menteri". Indopos.co.id. Indopos. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  8. ^ Hermansyah, Dadang (13 July 2018). "Menteri Susi Lulus Ujian Paket C dan Dapat Ijazah Setara SMA" (in Indonesian). DetikNews. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Susi Air and Mechtronix team up to develop Cessna Grand Caravan simulator". PR News Wire. PR Newswire. 2 March 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  10. ^ "Almarhum Panji Hilmansyah, Insinyur Pesawat Terbang Putra Menteri Susi".
  11. ^ "Who is Susi Pudjiastuti, Indonesia's Marine and Fishery Minister?". GlobalIndonesianVoices.com. Indopos. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  12. ^ Yuli, Saskia (31 October 2014). "Tak Ada Gading yang Tak Retak". politik.Kompasiana.com. Kompasiana. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  13. ^ Dwi Afriyadi, Achmad (26 October 2014). "Cuma Tamat SMP, Bos Susi Air Mampu Jadi Menteri Kelautan". bisnis.Liputan6.com. Liputan 6. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  14. ^ "Tak Ada Gading yang Tak Retak". politik.Kompasiana.com. Kompasiana. 30 October 2014. Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  15. ^ "Executive Column: Susi Air, a business started by accident". The Jakarta Post. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Susi Pudjiastuti Langsung Lengser Dari Jabatan Dirut Susi Air". TribunNews.com. Tribun News. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  17. ^ Beech, Hannah; Suhartono, Muktita (25 June 2018). "Indonesian minister doesn't mind making enemies". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Indonesian 'enforcer' helps revive fishery". Bangkok Post. Associated Press. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  19. ^ Gray, Richard (13 February 2019). "The hunt for the fish pirates who exploit the sea". BBC. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  20. ^ a b "Susi Pudjiastuti Terima Penghargaan WWF Leaders for a Living Planet". WWF.or.id (in Indonesian). WWF Indonesia. 18 September 2016.
  21. ^ Cabral, Reniel B.; et al. (April 2018). "Rapid and lasting gains from solving illegal fishing" (PDF). Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2 (4): 650–658. doi:10.1038/s41559-018-0499-1. PMID 29572526. S2CID 4157387.
  22. ^ "Susi receives honorary degree from Undip". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  23. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2017: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2023.

  Media related to Susi Pudjiastuti at Wikimedia Commons

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