Rini Widyantini

Rini Widyantini (born 29 May 1965) is an Indonesian politician serving as Minister of State Apparatus Utilization and Bureaucratic Reform since 2024. Being the first woman to hold the office, Rini served in a multitude of positions in the ministry before being appointed as minister, such as the deputy for institutional and governance affairs from 2012 to 2022 and the ministry's secretary from 2022 to 2024.

Early life and education

Rini was born on 29 May 1965 in Bandung as the youngest daughter of Nadisah, a lecturer at the Bandung Sports College (now the Faculty of Sports of the Indonesian Education University).

Rini completed her primary education at the 4th Tikukur Elementary School in 1976. She then continued her education to the Saint Angela Middle School and High School in Bandung, graduating in 1980 and 1983, respectively. She later earned a master's degree in public policy and management from Flinders University in 1999 with a scholarship from the Australian government.

Career Upon receiving her law degree, Rini met representatives from the state secretariat who were recruiting fresh graduates. While working in the state secretariat, in 1993 Rini was selected for the Indonesian Japan Youth Exchange.

In January 2012, Rini was installed as the ministry's expert staff for legal affairs after successfully passing assessments and selections. During her tenure, Rini represented the ministry in a judicial review session on the position of deputy minister at the constitutional court. In October 2012, Rini was named as the acting deputy for institutional affairs, replacing the retiring Ismadi Ananda. She was installed for the position in a permanent capacity on 24 June 2013. On 29 May 2015, in the ministry's coffee morning and talkshow event, Rini was designated by minister Yuddy Chrisnandi as the ministry's spokesperson, alongside chief of legal affairs and information openness bureau Herman Suyatman.

After serving as deputy for about a decade, on 3 January 2022 Rini was installed as the secretary of the ministry, the most senior bureaucratic position in the ministry. Upon her inauguration, Rini announced her plans on reforming governance in the ministry and accelerate data integration in order to inform the public on the government's efforts in bureaucratic reform. Her inauguration was attended by 78-year old Sarwono Kusumaatmadja. Rini retained her deputy office in an acting capacity until a permanent replacement was installed on 6 April 2022.

On 21 October 2024, Rini was installed as the Minister of State Apparatus Utilization and Bureaucratic Reform.