Yenny Wahid

Yenny Wahid
Wahid in 2011
Born
Zannuba Ariffah Chafsoh

(1974-10-29) 29 October 1974
Jombang, East Java, Indonesia
EducationTrisakti University
Harvard Kennedy School
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • political activist
OrganizationsThe Wahid Institute
Political party
Independent (since 2014)
Other political
affiliations
PKB (1998–2008)
PKBI (2011)
PKBN (2011–2012)
PKBIB (2012–2014)
Spouse
Dhorir Farisi
​
(m. 2009)​
Children3
Parents

Zannuba Ariffah Chafsoh, known as Yenny Wahid (born 29 October 1974), is an Indonesian activist, politician, former journalist, and sports administrator. She is the director of the Wahid Foundation, a civil-society organization founded by her father, former Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid, that works in peacebuilding, community empowerment, and the prevention of violent extremism.[1][2] She has served as chair of the Indonesian Climbing Federation since 2019 and as deputy chair of IFSC Asia since 2025.[3][4]

Early life and education

She is the second daughter of the late President of Indonesia Abdurrahman Wahid, a granddaughter of Indonesia's first religion minister Wahid Hasyim, and a great-granddaughter of Hasyim Asy'ari, founder of the world's largest Muslim organization Nahdatul Ulama.[5] She obtained her bachelor's degree in design and visual communication from Trisakti University in Jakarta.

Journalism career

Upon graduation she went to work as a journalist for Fairfax Media, publisher of Australian newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

As a journalist, she covered news stories from occupied East Timor and Aceh. For her stories in post-referendum East Timor, she and her team won a Walkley Award for journalism.[6][7]

Advocacy and political career

After her father became Indonesia's fourth president in 1999, Wahid left journalism and joined his presidential staff, working in political communication. Following his impeachment in 2001, she studied public administration at Harvard Kennedy School as a Mason Fellow.[8]

In 2004, Wahid became director of the newly established Wahid Institute, now known as the Wahid Foundation. Through the organization, she has worked on religious tolerance, peacebuilding, women's empowerment, and the prevention of violent extremism.[1][2][9]

Wahid served as a member of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's special staff for political communication from 2006 to 2007, leaving the position after one year to concentrate on grassroots work.[10] She also served as secretary-general of the National Awakening Party (PKB), starting from 2005, before being removed from the position in 2008.[11]

Sport administration

Wahid was elected by acclamation as chairperson of the Indonesian Climbing Federation (FPTI) in December 2019 for the 2019–2023 term.[12] She was re-elected in December 2023 for a second term covering 2023–2027.[3] In January 2025, she was elected deputy chair of IFSC Asia for the organization's 2025–2029 board term.[4]

Recognition

Greg Barton in The Australian credits her with having played a crucial role in persuading her father of "the extent of military-backed militia violence in East Timor [...] and the culpability of the Indonesian military leadership".[13] According to the Wahid Institute, the World Economic Forum named her a Young Global Leader in 2009, a role in which she remained active as of 2013.[14][15] She is married to Dhohir Farisi.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "Wahid Foundation". Wahid Foundation. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 "SPF World Views: Yenny Wahid, Director of the Wahid Foundation". Sasakawa Peace Foundation. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Yenny Wahid kembali terpilih menjadi Ketua Umum FPTI periode 2023-2027" (in Indonesian). ANTARA. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 "IFSC Asia Plenary Assembly in Jeddah elects new continental board". World Climbing. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  5. ↑ Milovanovic, Selma (12 June 2010). "Following in her father's footsteps - her way". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  6. ↑ (in Indonesian) Yenny Wahid's Biography Archived 10 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Graham, Duncan (19 June 2017). "Indonesia's woman to watch". Inside Indonesia. Retrieved 27 June 2017. Wahid reported for Fairfax Press when the Indonesian Army trashed East Timor after locals broke free of Indonesian rule in the UN-supervised 1999 referendum. The team Wahid was part of won a Walkley Award, Australia's highest prize in journalism.
  8. ↑ KSG Mason Fellow List 2003 Archived 23 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Graham, Duncan (19 June 2017). "Indonesia's woman to watch". Inside Indonesia. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Yenny Wahid". International Center for Law and Religion Studies. BYU Law. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Yenny Resmi Dicopot Cak Imin dari Kursi Sekjen PKB" (in Indonesian). detikNews. 14 April 2008. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  12. ↑ "Pluralism activist Yenny Wahid chairs Indonesian sport climbing federation". The Jakarta Post. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Australia owes a debt of gratitude to Indonesia's accidental president", Greg Barton, The Australian, 2 January 2010
  14. ↑ "About Us". Wahid Institute. Retrieved 27 June 2017. In 2009 she was named as one of the Young global Leader honorees by the World Economic Forum.
  15. ↑ "List of 2013 Young Global Leaders Honourees" (PDF). World Economic Forum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 November 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  16. ↑ "Ten Cow Dowry for Former Indonesian President Gus Dur's Daughter". Jakarta Globe. 15 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 February 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.