Dr. Sapta Nirwandar was born on May 13, 1954, in Tanjung Karang, Lampung. He completed his study and graduated from several universities in Paris (Institute International d’Administration Publique, Paris; University Paris ISorbonne; Ecole Nationale d’Administration; University Paris IXDauphine) that he finished his Doctor in Public Administration. He speaks English and French fluently.

Mr. Nirwandar has an extensive background in international and national public service, including state-owned enterprises and academia. After he returned to Indonesia, he continued his career as a bureaucrat and held several key positions in many Government Offices. In the international forum, he has been selected as a Member of the Program Committee of UNWTO (World Tourism Organization) representing Asia and the Pacific region for the period 2007-2013.

With broad experiences in developing tourism, he was invited to share his knowledge in various international forums all over the world. Before retiring as a bureaucrat, he was appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy in 2011 up to 2014. Now he has been actively encouraging the development of Halal Lifestyle industry in the country as the Chairman of Indonesia Halal Lifestyle Centre.

He often invited as a speaker in various international Halal seminars and conferences abroad. As his enormous concern for the tourism and travel industry particularly in Indonesia, he now leads the Indonesia Tourism Forum (ITF) and is active to assist government in advancing national tourism development.