Profile of Muhammad Qodari, the Newly Appointed Head of the Indonesian Government Communication Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Muhammad Qodari, who previously served as Head of the Presidential Staff Office, has been officially appointed as Head of the Indonesian Government Communication Agency (Bakom RI), replacing Angga Raka Prabowo.

President Prabowo Subianto personally led the inauguration ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday. Qodari stood before the President, accompanied by a religious official.

“I swear that I will be loyal to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and will carry out all applicable laws and regulations with utmost integrity for the sake of my duty to the nation and state,” stated Prabowo, which was repeated by Qodari.

The appointment is based on Presidential Decree of the Republic of Indonesia Number 52/P of 2026 regarding the Dismissal and Appointment of the Head of the Presidential Staff Office and the Head of the Government Communication Agency.

After taking the oath, Qodari signed the minutes of the inauguration, witnessed by President Prabowo. The President also signed the minutes.

Education

Qodari’s higher education journey began at the University of Indonesia, where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in the Faculty of Psychology in 1992. He focused on social psychology studies and graduated in 1997.

In 2001, Qodari continued his studies at the University of Essex in England, specialising in political behaviour. He successfully completed the programme and obtained a master’s degree a year later.

In 2007, Qodari enrolled in a doctoral programme at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Gadjah Mada University. He earned a Doctorate in Political Science in 2016 after defending his dissertation titled ‘Split-Ticket Voting and the Factors Explaining It in the 2004 Indonesian Legislative and Presidential Elections’.

In his dissertation, Qodari examined split-ticket voting, a phenomenon arising from multiple elections, such as legislative (DPR) and executive (presidential) elections. This occurs when voters split their choices: selecting differently in the DPR election compared to the presidential election.

According to him, the dominant models commonly applied in the United States and Europe cannot explain split-ticket voting in developing countries and young democracies like Indonesia. Therefore, through his dissertation, Qodari formulated a model known as the ‘low information’ model.

Career

This man from Palembang, South Sumatra, is well-known as a researcher and observer of social politics. He began his career as a researcher at the Institute for Information Flow (ISAI) in 1999. After three years at ISAI, Qodari moved to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in 2002.

A year later, Qodari was appointed as Director of Research at the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI). In the same year, he also became Chief Editor of Majalah Kandidat, Campaign and Election Magazine. Qodari was then appointed as Deputy Executive Director of the Indonesian Survey Circle in 2005.

Drawing on that experience, Qodari founded his own research institute in 2006, named Indo Barometer. The institute focuses on studies of Indonesian societal political and social behaviour.

The career of this man born in 1973 continued into the government sector. He was inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto on 21 October 2024 as Deputy Head of the Presidential Staff Office (KSP). Less than a year later, Qodari was promoted to Head of KSP, replacing Lieutenant General TNI (Ret.) Anto Mukti Putranto.

Now, Qodari has moved to a new assignment. As Head of Bakom RI, one of his duties will be to coordinate and control the communication of strategic government policies as well as handle crisis communications.