Prabowo Subianto Officially Inaugurated as Indonesia’s Eight President; an Overview

Guests included former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, retired army general (and a former vice-president during Suharto’s New Order era) Try Sutrisno, and former vice-president Jusuf Kalla as well as many foreign political leaders and representatives (including Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim).

Obviously outgoing president Joko Widodo and outgoing vice president Ma’ruf Amin were present too, as the inauguration of Prabowo (and Gibran Rakabuming as Vice-President) marked the end of their five-year term.

It remains a question whether Joko Widodo is going to extend his career in national politics after having completed his second (and final) term as President. After the inauguration of his successor, Widodo travelled to his hometown of Solo (in Central Java) where he is expected to “take a break” for a while. However, considering he is still relatively young (63 years), it is being speculated in Indonesian media whether Widodo might return in a political position at some point, for example as chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council (in Indonesian: Dewan Pertimbangan Presiden; abbreviated as Wantimpres).

Prabowo’s Long Road to the Presidency

Prabowo, 73 years of age, had to wait a long time (and had to swallow many defeats) before finally becoming Indonesian President in 2024.

Born in 1951, Prabowo comes from an elite background. His grandfather, Margono Djojohadikusumo, was the founder of the first state bank in Indonesia (called Bank Negara Indonesia, BNI, which is one of the largest commercial banks in the country today, and is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, although the state controls the majority of its shares).

Furthermore, Prabowo's father, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, was an economist who served as minister under former presidents Soekarno and Suharto. And, Prabowo’s brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo is one of the richest businesspeople in Indonesia (who is also part of Prabowo’s political team on the background).

Contrary to the family members mentioned above, young Prabowo went for a career in the military. It was a successful career as he became one of the top generals in the Indonesian army. Most likely, his marriage to Titiek Suharto (a daughter of Suharto, himself a former army general) helped smoothen Prabowo’s military career during Suharto’s rule. After the collapse of Suharto’s authoritarian, military-backed regime in 1998 Prabowo and Titiek divorced (at her request, but the reason is unknown).

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