Eddy Santana Putra was born in Pangkal Pinang, South Sumatra (today Bangka Belitung Islands) on 20 January 1957.

[2][3][4] Before entering politics, Eddy was a civil servant at South Sumatra provincial government's public works department.

[6] In Palembang's first direct mayoral election in 2008, Eddy ran for a second term with PDI-P's support and Romi Herton as his running mate, winning with 335,591 votes (51%).

[12] He ran for governorship of South Sumatra in the 2013 gubernatorial election, but placed third behind incumbent governor Alex Noerdin and East Ogan Komering Ulu regent Herman Deru.

[14] He later quit the party and joined Gerindra, running in the 2019 legislative election as a People's Representative Council candidate from South Sumatra's 1st electoral district.