Todung Mulya Lubis is known as a seasoned social activist, academc, practicing lawyer and novelist. He has over 40 years of engagement as a student activist, legal aid lawyer, anti-corruption preacher, poet, novelist, university lecturer and diplomat.

Todung has established many NGOs like Legal Aid Institute, Transparency International-Indonesia, Amnesty International-Indonesia, International Crisis Group, Indonesian Legal Roundtable, University Network for Free and Fair Election and many others.

Todung is also known as a prolific writer. He has written more than 15 books ranging from law reform, human rights, anti-corruption and democracy. He has written one collection of poems and a novel. He is now in a process of writing another novel.

His book, In Search of Human Rights, is the first human rights book written and published under the shadow of authoritarian regime of Soeharto. The book has been translated into Bahasa Indonesia and used by students who are interested in studying human rights.

At the university, Todung has been teaching human rights and sociology of corruption. Previously, he was active in teaching various aspects of economic law at the university of Indonesia, his almamater.

Currently, Todung holds a position of an ambassador of Indonesia for the Kingdom of Norway and the Republic of Iceland. He has been in Oslo since 2018.