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View all search resultsFormer trade minister Rachmat Gobel dies at 63
Originally a businessman, Rachmat served as trade minister during the first term of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and a deputy speaker of the House of Representatives.
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House of Representatives lawmaker Rachmat Gobel (second right) of the NasDem Party walks with Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka (third right) and Bone Bolango regent Ismet Mila on June 19 during an inspection of the construction site of the Bulango Ulu Dam in Bone Bolango regency, Gorontalo. (Antara/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
F
ormer trade minister Rachmat Gobel, who was also a businessman and a House of Representatives lawmaker from the NasDem Party, died in Jakarta on Friday. He was 63 years old.
Rachmat died at around 3:20 a.m. on July 10 at the Brawijaya Hospital in Tebet, South Jakarta, according to an announcement posted by NasDem on its website. He is survived by his wife, Retno Damayanti, and two children and in-laws as well as several grandchildren.
His body was laid in state at his private residence in Tebet before being buried at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta on Friday afternoon. Former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo paid a visit to Rachmat’s house on Friday afternoon while former vice president Jusuf Kalla attended the funeral procession, as reported by Antara.
Born in Jakarta in 1962, Rachmat was widely known for his position as president director of electronic equipment company PT Gobel International. The company was established by his father, Thayeb Mohammad Gobel.
In 2014, then-president Jokowi appointed Rachmat as trade minister, prompting him to resign from the company. He served in the position until 2015, when Jokowi replaced him with Thomas Lembong.
Among the policies Rachmat introduced during his ministerial tenure was a 2015 ministerial regulation that banned the sale of beverages containing more than 1 percent alcohol in minimarkets.
He won a seat in the House after running in the 2019 legislative election with NasDem in his hometown Gorontalo. Rachmat was later inaugurated as a House deputy speaker.
