Suharto

Biography

Suharto was born in 1921 in a village near Yogyakarta in the Dutch East Indies and grew up in modest circumstances, partly with foster parents. He trained in the colonial army, served in Japanese-organised security forces during the occupation, and joined the new Indonesian Army during the independence struggle, rising to major general after independence. From 1961 he commanded the army's Strategic Reserve (Kostrad).

When the 30 September Movement attempted a coup in 1965, troops under Suharto put it down, and the army blamed the Communist Party. A nationwide anti-communist purge followed in which hundreds of thousands were killed. Suharto became army chief of staff, received sweeping powers from President Sukarno through the Supersemar order of March 1966, was named acting president in 1967 and president in 1968.

His "New Order" government, dominated by the military and the Golkar party, stabilised an economy suffering hyperinflation and pursued market-oriented growth, but it was authoritarian and centred on his personal rule. He ordered the 1975 invasion of East Timor, which led to a 24-year occupation marked by mass killings. Widespread corruption enriched his family and associates.

The 1997 Asian financial crisis and the riots and protests of May 1998 forced him to resign on 21 May 1998, after 31 years in office. He was later charged with corruption but was never tried on health grounds, and he died in Jakarta in 2008.