Suharto

Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian military general, politician and <a href="/facts/Dictator/ueVW1a39">dictator</a> who served as the country's second and longest-serving <a href="/facts/President_of_Indonesia/1cjYSloS">president</a> from 1967 to 1998. Rising to prominence amid political turmoil and <a href="/facts/Indonesian_mass_killings_of_1965%25E2%2580%259366/uwHupy84">anti-communist purges in the mid-1960s</a>, Suharto gradually sidelined founding president <a href="/facts/Sukarno/z8u8nPHm">Sukarno</a> and formally assumed the presidency after forcing him to resign. His three-decade rule, characterised as <a href="/facts/Authoritarian/88Kfm2gU">authoritarian</a> and <a href="/facts/Kleptocratic/6dh1qrgQ">kleptocratic</a>, was marked by widespread corruption, political repression, and human rights abuses. Suharto's regime <a href="/facts/Fall_of_Suharto/MtFXSzmt">ultimately collapsed</a> in 1998 amid mass protests, violent unrest, and the fallout of the <a href="/facts/1997_Asian_financial_crisis/EfxsMxXQ">1997 Asian financial crisis</a>, leading to his resignation.
Suharto was born in <a href="/facts/Kemusuk/e6H4Gv08">Kemusuk</a>, near the city of <a href="/facts/Yogyakarta/AHe1fMdI">Yogyakarta</a>, during the <a href="/facts/Dutch_East_Indies/1vl6kw8p">Dutch colonial</a> era. He grew up in humble circumstances. His <a href="/facts/Javanese_people/35mcwIsB">Javanese</a> Muslim parents divorced not long after his birth, and he lived with foster parents for much of his childhood. During the <a href="/facts/Japanese_occupation_of_the_Dutch_East_Indies/vfCJCn4Q">Japanese occupation</a>, Suharto served in the Japanese-organized Indonesian security forces. During <a href="/facts/Indonesian_National_Revolution/fPhfqLyH">Indonesia's independence struggle</a>, he joined the newly formed <a href="/facts/Indonesian_Army/7Vd2JuYv">Indonesian Army</a> and rose to the rank of <a href="/facts/Major_general/4v4nzpy7">major general</a> some time after full Indonesian independence was achieved. <a href="/facts/30_September_Movement/rqsf0277">An attempted coup</a> on 30 September and 1 October 1965 was countered by Suharto-led troops. The army subsequently led a nationwide <a href="/facts/Indonesian_mass_killings_of_1965%25E2%2580%259366/uwHupy84">violent anti-communist purge</a>. In March 1967, the <a href="/facts/People%2527s_Consultative_Assembly/TTUuN3AY">MPRS</a> appointed Suharto as acting President, and he was appointed President the following year. When Suharto came to power, <a href="/facts/Inflation/YvKtKrVI">inflation</a> was running at over 650%. He appointed <a href="/facts/Berkeley_Mafia/YALERUmy">an economic advisory group</a> that implemented <a href="/facts/Free_market/KnK7JohY">free market</a> policies, and by 1969 the country entered a period of price stability. Suharto ordered an <a href="/facts/Indonesian_invasion_of_East_Timor/GtaCjolj">invasion of East Timor</a> in 1975, followed by a deadly 23-year <a href="/facts/Indonesian_occupation_of_East_Timor/QAkVwzPD">occupation of the country</a> and <a href="/facts/East_Timor_genocide/w3rL3n1q">genocide</a>.
Under his "<a href="/facts/New_Order_(Indonesia)/dp86kjXg">New Order</a>" regime, Suharto established a strong, centralised government dominated by the military, evolving from an initial <a href="/facts/Oligarchy/1PjREsee">oligarchic</a> military dictatorship into a deeply <a href="/facts/Authoritarian/88Kfm2gU">authoritarian</a> state centred on a <a href="/facts/Cult_of_personality/ghjjeoYI">cult of personality</a> that elevated him as the nation's undisputed leader. His staunch <a href="/facts/Anti-communist/bJuolzxo">anti-communist</a> stance and ability to maintain political stability across Indonesia's vast and diverse archipelago secured significant economic and diplomatic backing from Western powers, particularly the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a>, during the <a href="/facts/Cold_War/spJdJQ3q">Cold War</a>. During much of his presidency, Indonesia underwent rapid industrialisation, sustained economic growth, improved education, and a rise in domestic entrepreneurship, developments that led the <a href="/facts/People%2527s_Consultative_Assembly/TTUuN3AY">People's Consultative Assembly</a> (MPR) to name him "Father of Development" (<a href="/facts/Indonesian_language/J8Q78Ywb">Indonesian</a>: Bapak Pembangunan) in 1982. In 1986, he was awarded the Ceres Medal by the <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a> <a href="/facts/Food_and_Agriculture_Organization/13WV8JJK">Food and Agriculture Organization</a> (FAO) for achieving self-sufficiency in <a href="/facts/Rice_production/wvL1hBCz">rice production</a>. However, by the 1990s, his regime's increasing authoritarianism and <a href="/facts/Corruption_in_Indonesia/ANIIqBN8">widespread corruption</a> fueled public dissatisfaction, which reached a breaking point during the <a href="/facts/1997_Asian_financial_crisis/EfxsMxXQ">1997 Asian financial crisis</a> that plunged the country into economic turmoil and <a href="/facts/May_1998_riots_of_Indonesia/EU03Xscz">widespread unrest</a>. Under immense pressure, Suharto <a href="/facts/Fall_of_Suharto/MtFXSzmt">resigned in May 1998</a> after more than three decades in power. 
Suharto died in January 2008 and received a state military funeral with full honors. The Indonesian government declared a week of national mourning. Suharto's 32-year presidency and legacy are highly divisive, and he remains a controversial figure within the Indonesian general public. He has been praised for making Indonesia into an economic success story, bringing stability to the region particularly during the <a href="/facts/Cold_War/spJdJQ3q">Cold War</a> period, and led Indonesia when it played a significant role in international affairs. However, others have denounced his <a href="/facts/Authoritarianism/88Kfm2gU">authoritarian rule</a>, widespread corruption, and extensive human rights violations (such as <a href="/facts/Indonesian_mass_killings_of_1965%25E2%2580%259366/uwHupy84">a violent anti-communist purge</a> prior to his rule and subsequent <a href="/facts/Discrimination_against_Chinese_Indonesians/xufSX42o">repression of Chinese culture in Indonesia</a>). Plans to award the status of <a href="/facts/National_Hero_of_Indonesia/loeeeAbt">National Hero</a> to Suharto are being considered by the <a href="/facts/Government_of_Indonesia/LKcBKI4z">Indonesian government</a> and have been debated vigorously.

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Suharto