Prabowo Subianto
Prabowo Subianto became President of Indonesia in October 2024, completing a return from disgrace that took a quarter of a century. Born in Jakarta in 1951, he is the son of Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, a prominent economist who was exiled for involvement in a rebellion, and spent much of his childhood abroad in Malaysia, Switzerland and Britain. He joined the army and rose through Kopassus, the special forces, serving in East Timor after the 1975 invasion. He married Titiek Soeharto, a daughter of the president, in 1983. By 1998 he commanded Kostrad, the strategic reserve. In the collapse of the Suharto regime that year, Kopassus units under his command abducted pro-democracy activists; thirteen remain missing. He was discharged from the army by a military honour council and spent years in Jordan. He has never been tried, denies ordering disappearances, and was for a long period refused a visa to the United States. He rebuilt himself as a businessman and then a politician, founding the Gerindra party in 2008, running for vice-president in 2009 and for president in 2014 and 2019. He lost both to Joko Widodo, disputing the second result amid riots that killed several people — and then accepted appointment as Widodo's defence minister, an alliance that startled his supporters. He won in 2024 in the first round with about fifty-nine per cent, running with Widodo's eldest son Gibran as vice-president after a constitutional court ruling, delivered by Widodo's brother-in-law, lowered the age requirement. His campaign rebranded him as a gentle grandfather figure on TikTok. In office he has launched a national free-meals programme for schoolchildren and a sovereign wealth fund, Danantara.
- Lived: 1951 CE – ?
- Nationality: Indonesian
- Roles: President of Indonesia (2024-present)
