Syamsuddin Mahmud was born on 24 April 1935 at Lampoh Lada village, a small locality in the regency of Pidie, Aceh.

[2] Syamsuddin's parents were late to enroll him in elementary school due to the Japanese occupation of Aceh during World War II.

However, within several years, Syamsuddin managed to catch up and skipped the 5th grade, allowing him to progress along with other students of his age.

[a] Although Syamsuddin had held a provincial-level office for about a decade, he did not publicly appear very often and was overshadowed by the flamboyant and loud Ibrahim Hassan.

However, after three months, Syamsuddin had still not been sworn in for his second term, sparking allegations that President B. J. Habibie—Suharto's successor—intentionally delayed confirming the election results.

In the midst of escalating involvement by the military against the Free Aceh Movement, Syamsuddin requested the president via the minister of home affairs at his inauguration to stop conducting military operations in Aceh, stating that the operations caused "physical and mental torment" to the Acehnese people.

[2] On the night of 11 November 1999, Syamsuddin, alongside several of his subordinates, signed a petition which demanded a referendum for the people of Aceh to be conducted under the supervision of the United Nations and a script which demanded its signatories be committed in the struggle for Aceh's autonomy on national and international levels.

He argued that the bill conformed with the People's Consultative Assembly decision that gave Aceh a special autonomy status.

[10] In June 1998, fifty-four students sued Syamsuddin, his vice governor Zainuddin AG, and regional secretary assistant Razali Yusuf for misappropriating funds from the Human Resource Development (PSDM, Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia) Foundation.

[8] Worried that Syamsuddin's stance on autonomy would cause national disintegration, President Abdurrahman Wahid enacted a decree on 7 June 2000 which dismissed him from the office of governor.

[11] Initially, Syamsuddin was shocked when he received the decree a week later, as he felt that he was not involved in any corruption or criminal case during his seven-year tenure as governor.

After accepting the decree, Syamsuddin handed over his governor's office to the acting governor—previously his second-term vice governor—Ridwan Ramli, on 21 June 2000.