Joko Widodo (born June 21, 1961 in Surakarta, Indonesia), better known by his nickname Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and the current Governor of Jakarta. He was previously the Mayor of Surakarta. He was nominated by his party, Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle, to run in the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election with Basuki Tjahaja Purnama as his running mate.

He was elected as governor of Jakarta on 20 September 2012 after a second round runoff of voting in which he defeated incumbent governor Fauzi Bowo.

Born in Surakarta, Central Java, Jokowi graduated with an engineering degree from the Faculty of Forestry at Gadjah Mada University in 1985.

While running for the office of mayor of Surakarta, many doubted the ability of a man who worked as a property and furniture businessman. But after a year in office, he successfully led many progressive breakthroughs which became widely praised nationally. He adopted the development framework of European cities (which he frequently traveled to as a businessman) into his own city of Surakarta.