Tri Rismaharini is the Mayor of Surabaya, the second-largest city of Indonesia. Since she was elected in 2010, Mayor Risma has cleaned up public spaces, made education and health services free and simplified the city’s budgeting and permitting systems. During her tenure, Surabaya has won a number of awards including the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City Award 2012 and the Adipura Kencana, the highest environmental awards in Indonesia. Mayor Risma was named as one of the 10 most inspiring women 2013 by Forbes Indonesia.
Mayor Risma significantly changed Surabaya from dirty and dry to a green and clean city. Her policy has been to make the most of empty land and open spaces. As a result, Surabaya has more than 20% green open spaces. There are now 11 major parks in Surabaya, all with different themes. The most prominent is the transformation of Bungkul Park, which has been recognized as the largest park in Southeast Asia.
As part of her package of social reforms, Mayor Risma introduced free education and health care for the poorer sections of her community. Around 35% of the city’s budget is spent on education. Before being elected as Mayor, she served as government employee in Surabaya City Government for more than 20 years. She was the Head of Surabaya Program Controlling Division and later she became the Head of Surabaya Landscape and Cleanliness Department.
Mayor Risma holds a BA in Architecture and an MA in Urban Development Management from Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology in Surabaya.
