Indonesian journalist and politician, fourth President of Indonesia (born 1940)

Abdurrahman Wahid

Abdurrahman Wahid, more colloquially known as Gus Dur, was an Indonesian politician and Islamic religious leader who served as the fourth president of Indonesia, from his election in 1999 until he was removed from office in 2001. A long time leader within the Nahdlatul Ulama organization, he was the founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB). He was the son of former Minister of Religious Affairs Wahid Hasyim, and the grandson of Nahdatul Ulama founder Hasyim Asy'ari. Due to a visual impairment caused by glaucoma, he was blind in the left eye and roughly 80% blind in his right eye.

Born

1940

September 7

Died

2009

Era

1940s

Country

—

About

Abdurrahman, in brief

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Life timeline

Key dates

1940 Born
2009 Died

Also on September 7

What else happened on this day, through history

878 Louis the Stammerer is crowned as king of West Francia by Pope John VIII.
1159 Cardinal Rolando Bandinelli is elected Pope Alexander III, prompting the election of Cardinal Octaviano Monticelli as Antipope Victor IV the same day.
1191 Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf: Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf.
1228 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II lands in Acre, Israel, and starts the Sixth Crusade, which results in a peaceful restoration of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

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The world in 1940

When Abdurrahman arrived

april 14 World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway, preceding a larger force which will arrive two days later.
april 23 The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
april 7 Booker T. Washington becomes the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
april 8 The Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party elects Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal as General Secretary, marking the beginning of his 44-year-long tenure as de facto leader of Mongolia.

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Same-day contemporaries

Also born on September 7

Allan Blakeney 1925–2011 Canadian scholar and politician, tenth Premier of Saskatchewan (born 1925) David Cannadine 1950– English historian and author Diane Warren 1956– American songwriter Don Messick 1926–1997 American voice actor and singer (born 1926) George Hirst 1871– English cricketer and coach (died 1954) Henry Campbell-Bannerman 1836–1908 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1836) James Van Allen 1914–2006 American physicist and academic (born 1914) Julie Kavner 1950– American actress Kiyosi Itô 1915–2008 Japanese mathematician and academic (born 1915)

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Same-year contemporaries

Also born in 1940

Abbas Kiarostami 1940–2016 Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer (born 1940) Bruce Chatwin 1940–1989 English-French author (born 1940) Bruce Lee 1940–1973 American actor and martial artist (born 1940) David Jason 1940– English actor, director, and producer Edmund White 1940–2025 American novelist, memoirist, and essayist (died 2025) Fabrizio De André 1940–1999 Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1999) Fran Tarkenton 1940– American football player and sportscaster Frank Zappa 1940–1993 American singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer and producer (died 1993) George A. Romero 1940–2017 American director and producer (died 2017)

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Keep going

More to explore

Abdurrahman's birthday September 7 Abdurrahman's zodiac Virgo When Abdurrahman arrived 1940