Photo: Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons¹¹

Fahrul Razi

Indonesian politician and retired army officer (born 1947)

Fachrul Razi (born 26 July 1947) is an Indonesian politician and retired army officer who serves as Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs since 23 October 2019. He is only the third person of military background to occupy the office, after Navy retiree Tarmizi Taher (1993–1998) and Army general Alamsyah Ratu Perwiranegara (1978–1983).²

From Wikipedia’s article on Fahrul Razi (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Jul 26, 1947.¹

About

As Tarmizi was a 2-star admiral and Alamsyah was a 3-star general, Fachrul – a 4-star general – is the highest-ranked military officer to have ever held this ministerial office.

Fachrul is the last Deputy Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (1999–2000) and is one of the founders of political party Hanura.

From Wikipedia’s article on Fahrul Razi, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.²

Companies

Ministry of Religious AffairsChair Oct 23, 2019 to Dec 23, 2020¹⁰

Early life and education

Date not recordedMilitary Academy³

Career

Occupation: civil servant.⁷

2019 to 2020Minister of Religious Affairs^{4 5}
2019 to 2020Chair, Ministry of Religious Affairs⁶

Personal life

BornJul 26, 1947, Banda Aceh⁸
CitizenshipIndonesia⁹

Razi was appointed Minister of Religious Affairs in the Onward Indonesia Cabinet on 23 October 2019 by the President of Indonesia, replacing Lukman Hakim Saifuddin. Soon after his appointment, Razi floated a possible regulation banning the use of face veils and "cingkrang" trousers - articles often worn by Muslims - from being worn in government premises.

In September 2020, he was criticized by parliament's commission on religious affairs after he said radicalism was being spread by "good-looking" people who were good Quran reciters and Arabic speakers. In December 2020, he was among six ministers replaced in a cabinet reshuffle.