Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia (abbreviated as Kemensos, formerly Department of Social Affairs) is a ministry that has the task of organizing and overseeing domestic affairs in Indonesia to assist the president in implementing state governance in the social sector. The Ministry of Social Affairs is led by a Social Minister who since 11 September 2024 has been held by Saifullah Yusuf.
The first minister of social affairs in the early days of independence was entrusted to Iwa Kusuma Sumantri. At that time, there were approximately 30 employees for the Labor and Social Affairs departments. Initially, the Ministry of Social Affairs office was located at Jalan Cemara no. 5 Jakarta, but when the capital city of the Indonesian Republic was moved to Yogyakarta, on January 10, 1946, the Ministry of Social Affairs moved their headquarters to the seminary building on Jl. Code Yogyakarta. Then, when the Indonesian government moved its capital back to Jakarta, the office of the Ministry of Social Affairs was re-established at Jalan Ir. Juanda 36, Central Jakarta, and has experienced a change of location again to Jalan Salemba Raya 28 Central Jakarta.
During the presidency of Abdurrahman Wahid, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Information were formally dissolved. At that time, Wahid had the idea that social welfare services were sufficient for the community in Indonesia. However, various social welfare problems occurred, such as natural disasters, social disasters, as well as a surge in the population of the homeless and neglected children in Indonesia. As a result, former high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Social Affairs at that time formed an agency that is directly responsible under the president. Thus, the National Social Welfare Agency (BKSN) was formed.
After the formation of the National Social Welfare Agency (BKSN), problems were not immediately resolved. In fact, BKSN was understaffed due to the imbalance of the population and social problems. With such considerations, the Ministry of Social Affairs was re-established in the National Unity Cabinet but merged with the Ministry of Health into the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. The merging of those two ministries also did not provide an adequate solution to the social welfare problems, and the social problems become increasingly complex.
During the Mutual Assistance Cabinet period, the Ministry of Social Affairs was re-established to carry out development tasks in the field of social welfare.
The Ministry of Social Affairs has the task of carrying out affairs in the fields of social rehabilitation, social security, social empowerment, social protection and handling of the poor to assist the President in carrying out state governance. In carrying out its duties, the Ministry of Social Affairs carries out the functions as follows:
Based on Presidential Decree No. 162/2024 and Minister of Social Affairs No. 1/2022 and 3/2024, the Ministry of Social Affairs is organized as follows: