Patrialis Akbar

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Patrialis Akbar (born 31 October 1958 in Padang, West Sumatra) is an Indonesian lawyer and politician who has worked in all three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judiciary.

Political and early career
- Akbar earned his law degree from the Muhammadiyah University of Jakarta and began as a lawyer.
- He joined the National Mandate Party (PAN) and was elected to Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) for West Sumatra, serving from 1999 to 2009.
- While in the DPR, he also served in the People’s Consultative Assembly (MPR) and helped draft amendments to the 1945 Constitution.

Executive role
- He was Indonesia’s Minister of Law and Human Rights from 22 October 2009 to 19 October 2011 under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Judicial role
- Akbar later became a member of the Constitutional Court, serving as a justice from 2013 to 2017. His initial appointment faced a court challenge, but he was eventually confirmed.

Key events
- In 2015, he rejected a proposal to raise the minimum marriage age for girls from 16 to 18.
- In January 2017, he was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) on bribery charges related to an animal health law.
- In September 2017, he was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined Rp 300 million for taking a bribe from a meat importer in connection with a judicial review.

Legal outcomes
- It was reported that he received about US$10,000 of a promised US$20,000 through a middleman.
- In 2019, the Supreme Court reduced his sentence to seven years, noting mitigating factors such as receiving only half the bribe and spending a small amount on golf.
- Akbar was released early from Sukamiskin prison in 2022.
- The co-defendant Basuki Hariman was released in 2023 and returned to the meat and garlic import business.