Military
Yulius joined the Kopassus special forces. During the Asian financial crisis and the protests in the late 1990s, he was assigned to a small team of 11 Kopassus soldiers, known as Tim Mawar ("Team Rose"), which was ordered to kidnap activists. [6] In a later statement, Yulius claimed that his actions as part of Tim Mawar was to "defend the dignity of the President". [7] Following the fall of Suharto, Yulius (ranked captain) was put on military trial for his involvement in Tim Mawar, and in April 1999 was sentenced to 20 months in jail. He was also dismissed from his post in the armed forces. [8] Following an appeal to the Supreme Military Court, his prison sentence was upheld, but his dismissal was overturned and he remained in service after his release. He was imprisoned at the Cimahi military prison. [9]
By 2002, Yulius had returned to Kopassus and received a promotion to major. [9] Yulius continued to the Indonesian Army Command and General Staff College (Seskoad), graduating in 2004, and by 2009 he was deputy commander of a Kopassus unit in Serang. [10] By 2011, Yulius was a colonel, and was involved in suppressing a labor protest at the Grasberg mine. [9] A clash ensued between the protesters and security forces (mostly Indonesian Police), resulting in the deaths of two protesters. [11] In 2016, he was assigned to head the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency in the Riau Islands, and was promoted to brigadier general. This appointment led to criticism from KontraS' Haris Azhar. [12] He then became commander of the Sorong military area in 2019. [13]
Then-Minister of Defence Prabowo Subianto (Kopassus commander during the kidnappings) would provide a recommendation letter for Yulius in 2020, which resulted in President Joko Widodo assigning Yulius as head of the strategic installations agency within the Ministry of Defence. Yulius's appointment resulted in widespread criticism from human rights activists. [14] [15] This appointment also resulted in Yulius being promoted to major general. [16] Yulius retired from the Army on 1 October 2021, and was appointed as a special assistant to the Minister of Defence five days later. [17]
Governor
In 2024, Prabowo Subianto's party Gerindra endorsed Yulius to run in the 2024 North Sulawesi gubernatorial election. He was further backed by a coalition of other nine parties, including Nasdem, PKB, and PAN. [18] Nasdem politician and provincial legislator Victor Mailangkay [ id ] was his running mate. [19] In the ensuing three-way race, Yulius won 539,039 votes (36.9%), defeating PDI-P candidate Steven Kandouw [ id ]. North Sulawesi had previously been considered a PDI-P stronghold. [20] [21] Yulius and Mailangkay were sworn in, along with most other regional leaders elected in 2024, on 20 February 2025. [22]
As governor, Selvanus pushed for the opening of a flight route from Manado to Tana Toraja to boost tourism. [23] He also promoted a Pekarangan farming program to boost local food self-suffiency. [24]
