Tarmizi Taher

Tarmizi Taher, MD (7 October 1936 – 12 February 2013) was Indonesia's Minister of Religious Affairs from 1993 to 1998. After qualifying as a doctor, he made his career in the Indonesian Navy and retired with the rank of Rear Admiral. He then served as General Secretary of the Department of Religious Affairs for 5 years, before being appointed as Minister in 1993 . After leaving his ministerial position, Taher has held other public appointments, including Indonesian ambassador to Norway and Iceland. He is currently serving as the elected chairman of Dewan Masjid Indonesia (Indonesian Mosque Council), an umbrella organization of local Mosque councils, the president of Az-zahra Islamic University in Jakarta, and the president director of Center for Moderate Moslem (CMM), a non-governmental organization aiming at improving understanding and cooperation among Islamic organizations. He was honored with Gusi Peace Prize from Philippines for his engagement in religious affairs.

Taher was born in Padang, West Sumatra. Upon graduating from one of the top medical schools in Indonesia, Airlangga University, he joined the navy and was assigned to various warships as medical officer. His path changed from medicine toward mental and religious affairs when he was appointed as the head of navy mental up-building agency, overseeing all chaplains in the navy. Shortly after that, he was promoted as head of Armed Forces Mental Up-building Center with the rank of rear admiral, overseeing all mental upbuilding activities in entire Indonesian military. He ended his military career when he was promoted to the post of General Secretary of the Department of Religious Affairs and later was appointed as a minister in the Cabinet.

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