Amien Rais, a prominent Indonesian politician who led and inspired the reform movement that forced the resignation of the nations authoritarian ruler Suharto, will present a lecture at 3 p.m. Feb. 12 (Monday) at the University of Notre DamesHesburghCenterauditorium.
Titled “The Impact of Globalization on Islam and Democracy in Indonesia,” the talk is sponsored by Notre Dames Kellogg Institute for International Studies and Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and is free and open to the public.
Rais, who earned his masters degree from Notre Dame, was the leader of the 25-million member Islamic organization Muhammadiyah from 1995 to 2000 and chair of the People’s Consultative Assembly of Indonesia from 1999 to 2004.
Raisrise to power came in the wake of massive protests inJakartain 1998 that forced the resignation of President Suharto and led to the formation of the reformist National Mandate Party (Partai Amanat Nasional/PAN). As speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly, Rais helped enact constitutional reforms that revived and amendedIndonesia’s democratic 1945 constitution.
Rais and others worked to successfully elect Abdurrahman Wahid as president and Megawati Sukarnoputri as vice president in 1999. In the 2004 presidential election, Rais and Siswono Judohusodo earned 15 percent of the vote.
Rais currently is chair of PAN’s advisory board and a professor atGadjahMadaUniversity. He earned his masters degree from Notre Dame in government and international studies, and his doctorate in political science from theUniversityofChicago.
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