Apolo Safanpo (born 24 April 1975) is an Indonesian academic and bureaucrat who is serving as the governor of South Papua in an acting capacity from 11 November 2022 until his resignation on 5 August 2024.

He also held office in the Ministry of Home Affairs as the minister's expert staff for governance since 9 November 2022.

Apolo resigned from his position to ran for the definitive governor of South Papua in the 2024 Indonesian local elections, with Paskalis Imadawa as his running mate.

Safanpo was born on 24 April 1975 in Agats, a town in the Merauke region of the province of Irian Jaya.

[7] Karel Sesa, the rector of the Cenderawasih University who was elected in 2013, died suddenly in 2015 due to medical complications.

[9][1] The final choice for the post of rector was made through an election, in which all 36 members of the university's senate were eligible to vote.

Chairman of the Cooperatives Council of Papua Paskalis Kossay and member of parliament Komaruddin Watubun nominated Safanpo for the post in early August 2022.

[12][13] Safanpo's candidacy grew stronger over time, mostly due to his involvement in the Papua bill[14] and his Asmat origins.

[15] Safanpo's nomination as the Governor of South Papua was further strengthened after the Minister of Home Affairs installed him as the expert staff for governance on 9 November 2022.

[24] Despite his denial, Safanpo later replaced Sugiarto with Madaremmeng, another bureaucrat from the home affairs ministry on 1 December.