Dede Oetomo (born 1953) is a campaigner for LGBT rights in Indonesia and an expert on gender issues in East Java.

[6] In 1978, he completed a TESOL (Teaching English to speakers of other languages) course and was awarded a grant by the Ford Foundation to study linguistics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Dede Oetomo received a scholarship from the Social Science Research Council to assist with his dissertation studies during 1983 and 1984.

[9] His work has helped to produce specifically Indonesian gay and lesbian identities in Indonesia, which he defines as "more or less as they are in the contemporary West".

[10] Lambda Indonesia was started by Oetomo in 1982, whilst he was still at Cornell, as a newsletter providing a forum where people could write letters to receive advice about gay issues.

[13] However, there was also increasing repression and Oetomo criticised funding groups such as the Ford Foundation, UNDP and USAID for not doing more to help LGBT rights in Indonesia.

[14] The post-Suharto era in Indonesia began in 1998 and Oetomo stood for election several times representing the People's Democratic Party (known as PRD).