Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih

Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih was an Indonesian physician, researcher, and author. She served as Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia from 22 October 2009 until 30 April 2012. She was born on 1 February 1955, in Jakarta, Indonesia. She graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Indonesia in 1979 and obtained her Master of Public Health degree from Harvard School of Public Health in 1987. She also received a Doctor of Science degree from the same institution in 1994. She began her career as a clinician at the Jakarta Pertamina Hospital in 1979. She joined the public health service in 1980 and worked in various positions, such as the Head of the Center for Disease Control Research and Program Development, the Director of the Center of Biomedical Research and Program Development, and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health. She also worked as a technical adviser at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1997 to 2006. She was appointed as the Minister of Health by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2009, succeeding Siti Fadillah Supari. She was the first woman to hold this position in Indonesia. She was responsible for managing the health system, improving the quality of health services, and responding to public health emergencies, such as the H1N1 pandemic, the Merapi eruption, and the Mentawai tsunami. She was also involved in the development of the GISAID initiative, a platform for sharing influenza virus data and sequences. She resigned from her post in April 2012, due to her deteriorating health condition. She had been diagnosed with lung cancer in October 2010 and underwent extensive treatment. She died on 2 May 2012, at the age of 57, at the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia. She was survived by her husband, Reanny Mamahit, a gynecologist, and her three children, Arinanda, Awandha, and Rayinda. She was buried at the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in Jakarta. She was widely respected and admired for her dedication, professionalism, and integrity. She received several awards and honors, such as the Bintang Mahaputra Utama, the highest civilian honor in Indonesia, and the Harvard School of Public Health Alumni Award of Merit. She also published several books and articles on public health issues, such as epidemiology, biostatistics, and health policy.