New Indonesian President takes office

“I promise to fulfill the duties of the President of Indonesia as best and as fairly as possible, protect the constitution, and enforce laws and regulations as strictly as possible,” read the oath from new President Prabowo Subianto. during the inauguration ceremony at the parliament building in the capital Jakarta this morning.

After his speech in parliament, Mr. Subianto went to the Indonesian Presidential Palace to take over power from his predecessor Joko Widodo.

Mr. Subianto was elected president in the March election, defeating opponents Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo. His deputy is Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 37 years old, the eldest son of former president Widodo.

During the election campaign, Mr. Prabowo described himself as “the candidate of continuity”. He set the goal of promoting economic growth from 5% to 8%, helping Indonesia become self-reliant in the production of key products and playing a more active role in the international arena.

Mr. Prabowo was born into an elite family, whose father served as a minister under the late Indonesian president Sukarno. However, he had to live in exile since he was young because his father, one of Indonesia’s most famous economists, fled abroad because of his opposition to Sukarno.

In 1967, his family returned home after General Suharto came to power. Prabowo joined the army in 1970, served in the special forces and then married President Suharto’s daughter in 1983. This is considered the launching pad for Prabowo’s political career.

After the fall of the Suharto government in 1998, the Indonesian military expelled Prabowo. He divorced his wife and once again left Indonesia, living in exile in Jordan. Prabowo returned, founded his own political party in 2008 and then ran for president in 2014 and 2019, but lost both to Mr. Joko Widodo.

After the second defeat, he completely changed his confrontational stance, giving up his tough stance and switching to supporting Mr. Widodo. Prabowo was appointed Minister of Defense by Mr. Widodo in 2019.