Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

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Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Image:Fotopresdn.jpg <small/>
6th President of Indonesia
Incumbent
Assumed office October 20,2004
Vice President(s)	Jusuf Kalla (from Golkar)
Preceded by	Megawati Soekarnoputri
Succeeded by	Incumbent

Born	September 9 1949 Pacitan, East Java, Indonesia
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse	Kristiani Herawati
Religion	Muslim

General (ret.) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born September 9, 1949), is a retired Indonesian military General and Statesman, and is the sixth President of Indonesia. He was the first to be directly elected by voters. Yudhoyono won the presidency in September 2004 in the second round of the Indonesian presidential election, in which he defeated incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri. He was sworn into office on 20 October 2004, together with Jusuf Kalla as Vice President.

(Being Javanese, Yudhoyono does not have surnames in the Western sense. While he uses Yudhoyono in naming his children, it is not a hereditary family name. In Indonesia, he is referred to by some parts of the media as President Susilo which is considered polite. Among the people, he is also popularly known as SBY, an acronym that he does not seem to object to. Abroad, he is referred to as Yudhoyono, a name that he chose for his military nametag, while in formal meetings and functions he is addressed as Dr Yudhoyono. Susilo is apparently derived from Sushil, which in Sanskrit means "one with good character.")

1 Childhood and early education
2 Military career and education
3 Political background
4 Family
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Childhood and early education

Yudhoyono was born in Pacitan, East Java, to a lower-middle class family and is the son of Raden Soekotjo, an army officer, and Siti Habibah. Since he was a child, he always wanted to be in the army<ref>Kompas</ref>. His first school was Sekolah Rakyat Gajahmada (now is SDN Baleharjo I) Many people, remarked upon his exceptional intelligence and talent. Besides being a talented academic, Yudhoyono also has a proficiency in music and a love of sport, reflected when he and his friends formed a volleyball club called "Klub Rajawali" and a band, "Gaya Teruna". During the course of his presidential campaign, he was often known to sing one of his favourite songs "Pelangi di Matamu" (Rainbow in your Eyes)

Since he was born in a small town, he had a desire to move to a larger city in order to find more substantive employment and opportunities. A memory that sticks with him and saddens him, was the divorce of his parents<ref>Kompas</ref>; however, the breakdown of his parents relationship galvanized him to work even harder to accomplish his childhood dream to enter the Indonesian Military Academy(Akabri). Before that, he was a student at the Sepuluh Nopember (November 10th) Institute of Technology (ITS) on November 10, 1969.

However, Yudhoyono later decided to enter the Institute of Education in Malang, East Java. In order to prepare for examinations for entry into Akabri - held in Bandung, West Java. Yudhoyono officially entered Akabri in 1970.

[edit] Military career and education

He graduated from the Indonesian Military Academy in 1973, and received the prestigious Adhi Makayasa Medal as the best graduate of the year.

During his time as the commander of 305th Battalion 2nd Infantry Platoon in 1976, Yudhoyono was assigned to East Timor, and completed several tours of duty. Like many other Indonesian officers involved in the occupation of East Timor, he has been accused of war crimes, but has never been charged with any specific act. He was once seen as a protege of the former Armed Forces chief, General Wiranto, who was then also a presidential candidate, but severed his relations with Wiranto when he decided to run for President.

Yudhoyono was regularly being assigned to study in the United States, starting from and trained at the 82nd Airborne Division and US Army Rangers at Fort Bragg in 1976 to US Army's Infantry Officer Advanced Course in 1982 and 1984 to US Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in 1991. He also gained an MA in business management from Webster University in 1991. He was Indonesia's Chief Military Observer of United Nation Peacekeeping Force in Bosnia in 1995-96.

He later held territorial commands in Jakarta and in southern Sumatra. He was appointed Chief of the Armed Forces Social and Political Affairs Staff in 1997, and was known in the media as "the thinking general" due to his popular ideas and concepts in reforming military and the nation. As a media commentator has put it, "General Yudhoyono has spent more time in classrooms than in battlefields." He retired from active service on April 1, 2000, due to his appointment as a minister. He received his PhD in agricultural economics from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture on 3 October 2004, two days before his presidential victory was announced. His dissertation is entitled "The Rural and Agricultural Development as an Effort to Alleviate Poverty and Unemployment: a political economic analysis of fiscal policy".

[edit] Political background

[edit] Abdurrahman Wahid era

Yudhoyono was appointed Mining and Energy Minister in the government of President Abdurrahman Wahid in 2000. He was later promoted to the key position of Minister for Security and Political Affairs. One of his tasks was to remove the Indonesian army out of the political arena.

These objectives were well suited to his reformist ideas vis-a-vis the future of the Indonesian military.

"Since 1998, the military has decided to stay out of day-to-day politics," he said at that time. "The basic idea of military reform is to go back to the role and function of the military as a defense force and move them away from politics systematically. The trend is moving in such a way that there is no so-called 'dual function' of the military, there is no so-called social political mission in the military."

Given President Wahid's apparent physical (and, alleged mental) incapacity during his tenure as President, Yudhoyono was seen as the dominant figure in Wahid's administration<ref>Taiwan's Politics www.apdrc.org.tw/apdrc/web/country_study_indonesia_1_1.htm</ref>. In 2001 Wahid, who was facing impeachment, asked Yudhoyono to declare a state of emergency to shore up his position against the Parliament. Yudhoyono refused to declare a state of emergency, and Wahid promptly dismissed him<ref name='sbybbc'>BBC News World http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3725301.stm</ref>. This re-energized him, by giving him a reputation for being a true devotee of liberalism.

[edit] Megawati era

In 2001, when Megawati Soekarnoputri was elected as president, Yudhoyono was one of the vice-president candidates. However, he failed in his campaign to become vice president in July 2001, but because of his growing popularity, many people and groups suggested to him to prepare for the 2004 presidential election and to form a political party. One year later, he established the Partai Demokrat (Democratic Party). In early August 2002, Yudhoyono held a closed-door meeting with Professor Subur Budisantoso, Professor Irsan Tanjung and Dr. Achmad Mubarok to discuss the forthcoming presidential election.

Yudhoyono was later appointed by new President, Megawati Sukarnoputri as Politics and Security Co-Ordination Minister. Following the October 2002 Bali bombing, he oversaw the hunt for and subsequent arrests of those responsible, and further increased his reputation both in Indonesia and abroad as one of the few Indonesian politicians serious about the War on Terrorism. His speech during the one year anniversary of the Bali bombing (in which many Australians were killed) was praised by the Australian media and public<ref name='sbybbc'>BBC News World http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3725301.stm</ref>. In March 2004 he resigned as Vice President, reportedly after a falling-out with Megawati Sukarnoputri and her husband<ref name='sbybbc'>BBC News World http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3725301.stm</ref>. The timing of his resignation was widely seen as linked to his decision to run for president in the next round of elections.

[edit] As a president

Unlike most other presidential candidates, Yudhoyono put forward broad policies for the future of Indonesia. His manifesto, summarised in a book titled "Vision For Change" Yudhoyono articulated and then distributed for free, a four pillar plan for the future of Indonesia. It was formulated around; Prosperity, Peace, Justice and Democracy<ref>Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at AllExperts http://experts.about.com/e/s/su/Susilo_Bambang_Yudhoyono.htm</ref>. At the top of his agenda was a plan for increasing economic prosperity, aiming for economic growth of at least 7% per year and a revival of small and medium-sized enterprises. He also put forward policies to offer better credit lines, to cut red tape, improve labor laws and to root out corruption from the top down. He told an interviewer: "If we are to reduce poverty, create jobs, increase purchasing power and rebuild infrastructure, then we will need new capital. Of course, to be able to invite investment, I have to improve the climate — legal certainties, political stability, law and order, sound tax policies, customs policies, good labor management. I will improve the guarantees to encourage investors to come to Indonesia."

Yudhoyono's reputation for integrity, strong personality appeal, and excellent communication skills made him the front-runner throughout the election campaign, according to all opinion polls and the opinions of election commentators, a long way ahead of Megawati Sukarnoputri, Wiranto and the other two candidates, Amien Rais and Hamzah Haz. He, together with his newly-formed Democratic Party, became the front-runner by picking up much of the support base that gained Megawati's party the largest share of the vote at the 2000 legislative elections. He won the second round of the elections with 60.87% of the popular vote defeating incumbent President Megawati.

After he was officially elected on October 20, 2004, President Yudhoyono formed the United Indonesia Cabinet (Kabinet Indonesia Bersatu). The day after that, October 21, without any further process, the ministers were officially elected. However, after many disputes over the achievements and failures of the ministers, on December 5, 2005, Yudhoyono made a closed reshuffling and changed six of the cabinet ministers.

[edit] Governance and disasters

Just two months after the he was elected, the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami struck Indonesia and many other countries along the Indian Ocean coastline. Recent research and studies relate the disasters which happened in his presidential era with the political stability of Indonesia. Nonetheless, the president is also involved. One study shows that the possibility of Yudhoyono being re-elected in 2009 is narrow if the pattern of the disasters continues<ref name='sbyd'>VOA News Superstitions About Indonesia's Disasters May Affect Political Fortunes http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-07-25-voa12.cfm</ref>. On October 1, 2005, suicide bombings were conducted on the island of Bali. The attacks bear the hallmarks of Muslim terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) -- a group with links to Al-Qaeda -- though the police investigation is ongoing. This group was also responsible for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing. President Yudhoyono condemned the attack, promising to "hunt down the perpetrators and bring them to justice." [1] Other disasters that struck Indonesia are the eruption of Mount Merapi, outbreaks of bird flu and the 2006 Java earthquake. In addition to this, shortly after the 2006 Tsunami struck, many media such as newspaper and news on television reported and brought up the same subject about the connection between Yudhoyono's governance and the disasters.

[edit] Family

He married Kristiani Herawati, the third daughter of army commander, General Sarwo Edhi Wibowo, who played a role in defeating the alleged coup d'état attempt by the Communist Party of Indonesia in 1965.

Yudhoyono lives both at the Presidential Merdeka (Freedom) Palace in Jakarta and at his family residence in Bogor with his wife, Ani Bambang Yudhoyono. Ani Bambang (pronounced ah-nee bumb-bung, maiden name: Kristiani Herawati) is a holder of political science degree from local Merdeka (Freedom)University, and was the first vice chairman of her husband's political vehicle Democratic Party.

The family's elder son, Agus Harimurti (born 1978), graduated from the reputable Taruna Nusantara High School in 1997 and Indonesian Military Academy in 2000 and is a holder of the Adhi Makayasa Medal like his father. He is an army first lieutenant, assigned to an infantry battalion in Bandung, West Java and is married to Annisa Larasati Pohan<ref>Tabloid Nova</ref>, a model and also the daughter of an ex-Bank Indonesia vice-president since the July 8th, 2005. In July 2006, Agus was graduated from Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies , Singapore in master degree of Strategic Studies. He is currently posted in Lebanon, being a member of Indonesian contingent for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon<ref>International Herald Tribune First Indonesian peacekeepers leave for Lebanon</ref>.

The family's younger son, Edhie Baskoro (born 1980) received a degree with double major, Financial Commerce and eCommerce in 2005 from the Curtin University of Technology, in Perth, Western Australia and currently following his brother's footsteps in pursuing his Master's Degree in the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies , Singapore.