I

ndonesian Ambassador to Qatar Rozy Munir, a leading figure in the country’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), and a former minister during Abdurrahman Wahid’s administration, died Monday morning aged 67.

“Father died at 7:50 a.m.,” his son, Avianto Muhtadi, was quoted as saying by Antara state news agency on Monday.

Munir, who had been diagnosed with liver cancer a month ago, was treated at Pelni Hospital in Jakarta for about three weeks.

His remains will be flown to Mojokerto, East Java, for burial.  

A graduate from the University of Hawaii and a lecturer in economics at the University of Indonesia, Munir was appointed investment and state-owned enterprises minister by then president Wahid, his superior at NU. He was also a member of the National Censorship Agency.

Munir was known among NU members as the man behind the success of the International Conference of Islamic Scholars (ICIS) in 2004 and 2006, according to the organization on its website, NU Online. The conferences, initiated by NU, were attended by Muslim scholars from more than 100 countries.

Former women’s empowerment minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa, also a prominent figure from NU, hailed the late Munir as a great teacher.

“Pak Rozy’s hobby was to look for young people to be taught managerial skills,” she was quoted as saying by vivanews.com.

“Over the last five years Pak Rozy sent more than 300 students from pesantren to learn about administration in the United Kingdom,” she added.

Munir, born on April 16, 1943, was the head of NU’s foreign affairs division before being appointed ambassador to Qatar by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2007.

He is survived by his wife, Mufida Munir, his three sons, Avianto Muhtadi, Benny Saaf and Citra Fitri, and three grandchildren.

A number of NU figures such as Salahuddin Wahid, Abbas Muin, Bina Suhendra, Nasihin Hasan
and Cholil Nafis were seen visiting Pelni Hospital.