From Musicians To Deputy Minister Of Culture, Giring Ganesha's Journey

Giring Ganesha (Between)

JAKARTA - Musician and politician Giring Ganesha was appointed by the President of the Republic of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto to become Deputy Minister of Culture (Wamen) in the Red and White Cabinet for the period 2024-2029 accompanying the Minister of Culture Fadli Zon.

Giring's name emerged as a deputy minister candidate in the Red and White Cabinet when he became one of the figures Prabowo invited to his residence on Jalan Kertanegara, South Jakarta some time ago.

In fact, at that time Giring had leaked that he would cooperate with Fadli in the cabinet prepared by the President and Elected Vice President Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

The position of Minister of Culture, which was held by Fadli, accompanied by Giring, was the result of the expansion of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) into three ministries, namely the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology.

The figure who is also known to the public by the name Giring "Nidji" was born in Jakarta on July 14, 1983. Giring is the son of a journalist named Djumaryo Imam Muhni who has worked in various media, namely the Antara news agency, Astri magazine, and the daily News Yudha.

Giring studied at SMA Negeri 34 Jakarta and graduated in 2002. Then, he continued his education to a bachelor's degree in communication, majoring in International Relations Science at Paramadina University.

He took college leave to focus on a musical career, so he didn't finish college. In 2023, he decided to return to studying at the Open University and earned a Bachelor's degree in Communications.

Carrying out his duties as Deputy Minister of Culture, Giring is known to have interests and experiences in the art world, especially music. His journey in the music world began when Giring and his friends formed a band called Nidji in 2002 where he filled the vocalist position.

In 2006, Nidji released their debut album titled "Breakthru". During Giring's time as a vocalist, Nidji produced a number of popular hits including "Delete Aku", "You and Me", and "Laskar Pelangi".

Not stopping in the world of singing, Giring spread his work in the entertainment industry by pursuing the art of acting as an actor or a film player.

Some of the films he played were "The Brightening" in 2010, "Pillbab Traveler: Love Goody in Korea" in 2016, and the voice actor for the Payddle Pop Lion cartoon in the animated film "Paddle Pop Kombatei The Movie".

In 2017, Giring decided to leave his musical and film career and then took part in the political arena. He chose to enter politics because of his desire to contribute himself to the nation and state.

In the 2019-2024 period, he was trusted to serve as Chairman of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) replacing Grace Natalie who pursued education in Singapore.

After the 2024 General Election contestation, Giring returned to the music world that made his name where he had appeared on several stages. He also expressed his desire to return to writing songs and enter the recording kitchen.

Carrying the mandate as Deputy Minister of Culture, Giring admits that he has a vision that is in line with Fadli Zon who pays attention to Indonesia's cultural identity.

"That we have a big task to build the nation and state, and also a big task for reinventing the Indonesian culture (rediscovering Indonesian culture, ed.)," said Giring.

Indonesian culture is one of the important aspects in the vision of Asta Cita in the administration of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

This is reflected in a number of work program plans related to cultural preservation, namely rebuilding cultural parks as a forum for the protection, development, and promotion of traditional Indonesian arts.

Then, complement and modernize institutional governance in the national program to protect cultural heritage, increase public participation in efforts to preserve cultural heritage and traditional arts, and much more.