Not long ago he was in charge of the Indonesian military operations in the former rebel province of Aceh. Now, he is asking for votes to win the seat of governor in the same province, where the military has a record of human rights abuses.
He is not among the favourites, but former Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) major-general Djali Yusuf is definitely among the most talked about candidates.
The vote was called to directly elect local leaders and to cement the peace agreement that was signed between the former rebel Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and Jakarta in Finland in August last year.
'This is a sign of the democratisation process. Anyone can run for governor,' said Bakhtiar Abdullah, a senior GAM leader, who recently returned to Indonesia after a 25-year exile.
Yet, Asn Bin, a fruit seller at Banda Aceh's main market, described Mr Yusuf as 'a butcher' and his chances of victory as 'non-existent'. The latter opinion is backed by Sidney Jones, Southeast Asia project director for the International Crisis Group, who said 'Djali will have little sway in the province where people are still suspicious of the military'.
Mr Yusuf said that the past does not matter and that he is running to help the province, where he was born 57 years ago.
