H.E. Mrs. Puan Maharani
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia
And the President of the 19th PUIC Conference
Her Excellency Mrs. Puan Maharani is a distinguished political leader and a prominent figure in Indonesia’s political landscape. On October 1 2024, Puan Maharani was elected as the Speaker the House of Representatives of The Republic of Indonesia (DPR RI) for the second time for the period of 2024 – 2029. Previously, she served the Speaker of the House from 2019 until 2024.
She became the first Indonesian woman ever to hold the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia. Prior to becoming Speaker of the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani was the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Indonesian Culture, serving under President Joko Widodo’s Working Cabinet for the period of 2014- 2019. Through this designation, Puan Maharani became the first woman ever to hold the office of Coordinating Minister.
The Indonesian Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Indonesian Culture oversees Ministry of Religious Affairs; Ministry of Education and Culture; Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Social Affairs; Ministry of Village, Development of Disadvantage Regions, and Transmigration; Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection, and; Ministry of Youth and Sports.
In 2020, she received an award of honor of Bintang Mahaputera Adiprana from President Joko Widodo for her service as Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs. Puan Maharani was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa (Dr. H.C.) on Cultural and Policies in Human Development by Diponegoro University, Semarang in February 2020 for her services in socio-cultural sector, humanitarian development policies and human welfare in Indonesia.
In October 2022, Puan Maharani also received Honorary Ph.D in Political Science from Pukyong National University Busan, Korea for providing future development direction for Indonesia, and encouraging Indonesian women to participate in the global trend of gender equality.