Sherly Tjoanda

Sherly Tjoanda was born on 12 August 1982, in Ambon, Maluku, to Paulus Tjoanda and Maria Margaretha Liem. She is of Chinese descent, with Hakka maternal lineage. She pursued her undergraduate studies at Petra University in Surabaya, majoring in International Business Management, and later earned a master's degree from Inholland University, Netherlands. ==Career==

Prior to her political career, Tjoanda was actively involved in several organizations. She served as the Chair of the TP PKK (Family Welfare Movement) in Morotai from 2017 to 2022. She also chaired the Bela Peduli Foundation, which supports social initiatives such as aid for orphans, and was engaged with the Indonesian Farmers' Harmony Association. In addition, she held the position of Director at PT Bela Group, a company she co-developed with her husband. ==Political career==

In 2024, Tjoanda entered politics following the death of her husband, Benny Laos, in a speedboat accident on 12 October 2024. Originally a gubernatorial candidate, Laos's passing led a coalition of eight political parties—including NasDem, PKB, Democrats, PAN, PPP, Gelora, PSI, and the Labour Party—to nominate Tjoanda as his replacement. Running with Sarbin Sehe as her deputy, she won the election with 50.73% of the vote based on preliminary counts, defeating competitors including incumbent figures. She was inaugurated as Governor of North Maluku on 20 February 2025, as the province’s first female governor. ==Controversies==

In November 2025, Tempo magazine reported that Tjoanda is listed as the largest shareholder of PT Karya Wijaya inherited from her late husband Benny Laos, whose remaining shares are also held by their three children. PT Karya Wijaya initially owned a concession on Gebe, Central Halmahera Regency, covering an area of 500 hectares and a nickel production operation mining business permit number 502/34/DPMPTSP/XII/2020 valid until 4 December 2040. "The process is still ongoing; there are no final results yet due to discrepancies in the verification data, which will be announced in due course," said Barita Simanjuntak, spokesperson for the Forest Area Regulation Task Force. He confirmed that the Forest Area Regulation Task Force is working in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Therefore, all actions taken are solely for the sake of regulation. Simanjuntak also stated that the Forest Area Regulation Task Force is still verifying and collecting data on mining operations in North Maluku. In fact, verification is being carried out in 14 provinces and 30 regencies/cities, covering a total land area of 37,990,693 hectares. "In Southeast Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, North Maluku, Papua, Bangka Belitung Islands, Gorontalo, North Sumatra, Maluku, and North Sulawesi," he said. According to Simanjuntak, there are 191 companies currently undergoing verification. The companies involved in the mining of nickel, coal, copper ore, gold, limestone, marble, quartz sand, iron ore, iron laterite, peridotite, and others. The alleged violations committed by PT Karya Wijaya were uncovered by the Mining Advocacy Network. The company, which operates on 51.3 hectares of land in Gebe, Central Halmahera Regency, and is owned by Tjoanda, was fined for illegal nickel mining activities. ==Personal life==

Sherly Tjoanda was married to Benny Laos, a businessman who was the former regent of Morotai, from 2005 until his death in 2024. The couple had three children: Edbert, Edelyn, and Edrick. ==References==