Rustriningsih

Rustriningsih (born 3 July 1967) is an Indonesian politician who served as the Vice Governor of Central Java between 2008 and 2013. Previously, she served two terms as the regent of Kebumen. She was formerly a member of PDI-P, until she left the party around 2014 following her support for Prabowo Subianto in the 2014 Indonesian presidential election.

Early life and education Rustriningsih was born in Kedungampel village of Kebumen, Central Java on 3 July 1967 as the eighth of ten children. Her father Sukamto was a PNI activist during the Sukarno government and, later on, was active in PDI activities. After completing her basic education, she studied in General Soedirman University's faculty of social and political sciences. While there, she once trained PDI cadres, allowing her to meet Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Career Pre-regent After graduating from university, Rustriningsih began a catering business and a news agency, both based in her parents' house. The news agency eventually grew to employ 28 people. She would feature every morning on Kebumen's local TV station RATIH TV in an interactive program Selamat Pagi Bupati (Good morning Regent), where she would directly answer questions about problems in Kebumen from viewers.

In 2005, she ran for her second term in the regency's first direct local election. Sometime around 2004, she also adopted a headscarf (after going on hajj and marrying her husband), adopting a more pious image.

In 2013, she registered with her party to run for the governorship of Central Java. While she had significant popularity in the province, the party decided to not endorse her at the last moment. According to a Gerindra leader, she could have sought the support of other parties, but did not do so.

PDIP Though Rustriningsih had been part of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) during the New Order, she would be appointed as a member of its consultative body in 2001. She received significant coverage in media, and received attention and funding from human rights organizations abroad due to her perceived position as member of an oppressed group. and she ended up leaving that year. Prior to this, she had also encountered some internal controversy in her party due to her status as one of the initial founders of Nasdem prior to its establishment as a political party.

Post-2014 Rustriningsih was proposed as a possible running mate to Sudirman Said in the 2018 Central Java gubernatorial election, but she ended up not running. In the election itself, the PDI-P backed candidate and incumbent Ganjar Pranowo lost in Kebumen, and the defeat was attributed to Rustriningsih's influence in the regency. She again campaigned for Prabowo in the 2019 Indonesian presidential election.

Personal life Rustriningsih married Soni Achmad Saleh Ashar in 2004, and has five children (one adopted) as of February 2010.