Puan Maharani

Speaker, House of Representatives (DPR) — DPR RI / PDI-P

About Puan Maharani

Key facts Role: Speaker, House of Representatives (DPR) Organisation: DPR RI / PDI-P Country: Indonesia Sector: Politics & Government (legislature) Headline figures: 2027 central-government spending plan of about Rp3,371 trillion before the House; re-elected Speaker for 2024-2029 As Speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives, Puan Maharani presides over the chamber that was due to vote this week on the 2027 state budget. The plenary vote was scheduled for 29 September 2026, five days after the House budget committee and the government agreed a spending plan of about Rp3,371 trillion for central government, with the deficit held at 2.4 per cent of GDP (VOI, 25 September 2026). A day earlier, Puan had chaired a consultation between the House leadership and the budget committee's leaders. She told them that bigger allocations were not the point: "Don't let it just grow bigger in numbers; the budget must also be more beneficial for the people," she said (idisnews, 24 September 2026). The role The Speaker of the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR) sets the legislative agenda for Southeast Asia's largest democracy, chairs its plenary sessions and leads the House in dealing with the president. Every law and every national budget has to pass through the chamber she runs. Under the agreed 2027 plan, spending by ministries and agencies rises to about Rp1,556.8 trillion, transfers to the regions stay at Rp735 trillion, and state revenue is targeted at Rp3,435.1 trillion. “Don't let it just grow bigger in numbers; the budget must also be more beneficial for the people,” — Puan Maharani (idisnews, 24 September 2026) Background Puan is the first woman to have served as DPR Speaker. She took the post in 2019 and was re-elected for 2024-2029 on 1 October 2024, alongside four deputy speakers (Tempo, 15 October 2024). Her political weight is inseparable from her family. She is the daughter of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who chairs the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), and the granddaughter of Sukarno, the country's founding president. After studying mass communication at the University of Indonesia, she joined PDI-P. She was first elected to the DPR in 2009 from a Central Java constituency covering Surakarta, Sukoharjo, Klaten and Boyolali, and was re-elected in 2014. That year she became Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture in President Joko Widodo's first cabinet. A check on the executive She has used the Speakership to position the House as a check on the executive. That matters because PDI-P, the largest party in parliament, has chosen to stay outside President Prabowo Subianto's cabinet. In her address at the DPR's 81st anniversary plenary session on 1 September 2026, she acknowledged that the institution still had "many shortcomings". She said its performance should be judged by "how meaningful the work of the DPR is for the lives of the people", not by the number of meetings it holds (Suara, 1 September 2026). In late September she also pressed the government on prison governance, after the Ombudsman reported luxury facilities in buildings at Cibinong Class IIA prison in West Java. "There must be fundamental reform of correctional governance to stop patterns like this," she said, calling on the government to follow up the findings openly and to impose firm sanctions if special facilities had been traded as privileges (Antara, 24 September 2026). Regional profile Her regional profile comes through parliamentary diplomacy, which she lists alongside legislation, budgeting and oversight as a core function of the DPR. As the most senior woman in Indonesian politics, and the most visible heir to the Sukarno dynasty, she is watched as a possible future presidential contender. What to watch: the final passage of the 2027 budget, the House's oversight of Prabowo's flagship programmes, and her role as PDI-P plans for the 2029 elections. She ranks 13th because she controls the gateway for every law and budget in Indonesia, and is the dynastic successor in the country's largest party, although that party sits outside the ruling coalition. Sources VOI, Banggar and the Government Agree on the 2027 Budget, to be brought to the 29 September Paripurna , 25 Sep 2026 idisnews, Puan Maharani: APBN 2027 Harus Semakin Bermanfaat untuk Masyarakat , 24 Sep 2026 Suara.com, Puan Maharani di HUT DPR ke-81: Kritik Rakyat Itu Pendorong untuk Berbenah Diri , 1 Sep 2026 Antara, Puan: Perlu ada reformasi tata kelola usai temuan di Lapas Cibinong , 24 Sep 2026 Tempo, Siapa Pucuk Pimpinan DPR 2024-2029 di Bawah Ketua DPR Puan Maharani? , 15 Oct 2024

Why this entry is on the list

She ranks 13th because she controls the gateway for every law and budget in Indonesia, and is the dynastic successor in the country's largest party, although that party sits outside the ruling coalition. The first woman to serve as DPR Speaker, she was re-elected for 2024-2029 and presides over the chamber that was due to vote on a 2027 central-government spending plan of about Rp3,371 trillion.