Former Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah Passes Away

Former Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah, also known as Abu Doto, passed away at the Zainoel Abidin Regional General Hospital (RSUDZA) in Banda Aceh on Saturday at approximately 12:24 p.m. Western Indonesia Time. He was 86 years old and had been receiving treatment in the hospital’s ICU 2 since 4 June 2026.

His assistant, Muzakir Abdul Hamid, confirmed the death of the former provincial leader. “Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un, Dr Zaini Abdullah has passed away in ICU 2 at around 12:24 p.m. WIB,” Muzakir said. He explained that although Abdullah had been undergoing outpatient treatment, his condition deteriorated and he was rushed back to the hospital in the early hours of the morning, around 2:30 a.m. WIB. “He was elderly and had several complications,” Muzakir added.

Plans are being made to bury Abdullah in his hometown of Beureunuen, Pidie Regency, Aceh, following funeral prayers at the Baiturrahman Grand Mosque in Banda Aceh.

Born in Sigli, Aceh, on 24 April 1940, Zaini Abdullah completed his early education in Pidie and Banda Aceh, graduating from high school at the age of 20. He went on to study at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sumatera Utara (USU), specialising in obstetrics and gynaecology, and later pursued a specialisation as a family doctor at Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge in Stockholm, Sweden.

Abdullah later joined the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and was appointed as its Minister of Health. He was among the GAM leaders who participated as delegates in peace negotiations with the Indonesian government in Helsinki, Finland, in 2005, which resulted in the signing of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding on 15 August 2005. Following the peace agreement and the establishment of local political parties, he joined the Aceh Party and successfully ran for governor in the 2012 regional election alongside his running mate, Muzakir Manaf, who is the current Governor of Aceh.