SUHARTO

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Suharto (February 20, 1921 January 27, 2008[1]) was an

Indonesian military and political leader. He was a military
officer in the Indonesian National Revolution. He is better
known as the second President of Indonesia. He held the office
long time, from 1967 to 1998.

Suharto seized power from his predecessor, the first

president of Indonesia Sukarno. For this, he used some force,
but also took some political maneuvers. At the time,
there was
instability and unrest inside and outside of Indonesia. This helped
him come
to power. He took three decades to change the regime to
work along
militarist lines, with a strong central government. His
movement
was known as "Orde Baru". As he took an anticommunist
position which he could defend, several Western
governments supported him both in economic and political matters. This was during an era that
is known as Cold War. For most of his three-decade rule, Indonesia experienced significant
economic growth and industrialization.[2] His rule, however, led to political purges and the deaths
of millions of suspected Indonesian communists and Chinese-Indonesians.[3] He also made some
laws against communist parties and ethnic Chinese.[4]
His New Order administration's authoritarian and increasingly corrupt practices led to much
discontent in the 1990s. Suharto's almost unquestioned authority over Indonesian affairs slipped
dramatically when the Asian financial crisis lowered Indonesians' standard of living. People
inside the military and other institutions no longer supported him. There were some problems
inside the country during the early 1990s. Suharto became more and more isolated, in a political
way. After mass demonstrations in 1998, Suharto was forced to resign. Suharto had been the face
of Indonesia for over 30 years. After retiring, he lived in seclusion. There were people who
wanted to try him for genocide. This failed however, because he had a very bad health. His
legacy remains hotly debated and contested both in Indonesia and abroad.
Like many Javanese, Suharto has only one name. In contexts where his religion is being
discussed he is sometimes called Haji or el-Haj Mohammed Suharto, but this Islamic title is not
part of his formal name or generally used. The spelling "Suharto" has been official in Indonesia
since 1947 but the older spelling Soeharto is still frequently used.

Death
Suharto died January 27, 2008, at 1:10 P.M. local time due to organ failure. He died at Pertamina
Hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia.[5] He was taken off life support.[6]

References
1.
"Indonesia ex-leader Suharto dies".
Miguel, Edward; Paul Gertler, David I. Levine (January 2005). "Does Social Capital
Promote Industrialization? Evidence from a Rapid Industrializer". Econometrics Softare
Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley .
Robert Cribb (2002). "Unresolved Problems in the Indonesian Killings of 19651966".
Asian Survey 42 (4): 550563.
Leo Suryadinata (1976). "Indonesian Policies toward the Chinese Minority under the
New Order". Asian Survey 16 (8): 770787.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/01/27/1201368944599.html

Suharto

2nd President of Indonesia

In
office
March 12, 1967 May 21, 1998
Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX
(1973)
Adam
Malik
(1978)
Vice President Umar
Wirahadikusumah
(1983)
Sudharmono
(1988)
Try
Sutrisno
(1993)
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (1998)
Preceded by Sukarno
Succeeded by Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie
Personal details
February
20,
1921
Born
Kemusuk, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
January
27,
2008
(aged 86)
Died
Jakarta, Indonesia
Nationality
Indonesian
Political party Golkar
Spouse(s)
Tien Soeharto
Profession
Military
Religion
Islam