Achmad Sujudi

Achmad Sujudi was born on 11 April 1941 in Bondowoso, East Java. His parents, Musdari Darmoprawiro and Kusniati, worked as teachers at the local people's school (equivalent to elementary school). As his parents were teachers, he was immediately put at the 3rd grade in the people's school and completed his basic education in 1954. In addition to attending formal schools, he was also educated in madrasa and pesantren. Sujudi continued his education at the Bondowoso State Junior High School in 1957, Later in 1960, he attended the Malang State High School, which was considered the best high school in East Java. After graduating from high school, Sujudi began studying medicine at the University of Indonesia. He received a scholarship from the government, which covered most of his expenses. He also joined student movements in the mid-1960s, which aimed to overthrow the Sukarno regime. He graduated from the university in 1972 as a doctor. He later continued his education at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where he obtained his master's degree in Health Services Management in 1990. == Career ==

Doctor and hospital head After graduating from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Indonesia, Achmad Sujudi began his career as a physician. He started his career as a physician on the remote island of Buru in 1972. Sujudi left the Buru island in 1973 to work as a surgeon at the Persahabatan public hospital in Jakarta. After six years there, he returned to the University of Indonesia and studied surgery for about a year until 1980. Sujudi himself wanted to be transferred away from Bengkulu, but Governor Soeprapto insisted that he should remain there, stating a reduction in complaints from patients during his leadership of the hospital. Sujudi eventually left Bengkulu on 16 May 1994, and on the next month he was appointed to lead the Dr. Sardjito Hospital, a larger government hospital in Yogyakarta. He experienced several difficulties in managing doctors in the university, as most of the doctors were Gadjah Mada University graduates, while he was a University of Indonesia graduate. Director-general and minister After the fall of the Suharto regime, Achmad Sujudi was then appointed as the Director General of Eradication of Communicable Diseases and Residential Environment Health at the Department of Health from 1998 to 1999. Achmad Sujudi's political career began when he was appointed as the Minister of Health and Social Welfare by President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) in 1999. He served as the minister from 1999 to 2001. When Megawati Soekarnoputri became the President of Indonesia, Achmad Sujudi was again appointed as the Minister of Health in the Gotong Royong Cabinet from 2001 to 2004. == Personal life and death ==

Sujudi was married to Sulistiani in 1973. The couple has two children. Sujudi died on the morning of 2 May 2023 at the Pondok Indah Hospital in South Tangerang, Banten. He was 82. Prior to his death, Sujudi suffered a stroke in early 2023. Several former and incumbent officials, including health ministers Budi Gunadi Sadikin and , paid their final homages at Sujudi's house. His body was interred a day later at the Karawang Public Cemetery. == References ==