Indonesia’s Strong Man Suharto

Suharto was the second president of Indonesia after Sukarno Suharto born June 8, 1921 in central Java His military career began with the Japanese occupation After 1945 Suharto fought against the Dutch After 1965 he helped crush the Partai Kommunist Indonesia (PKI) and rose rapidly after this event

Suharto An executive order in 1966 forced Sarkano to grant emergency powers to Suharto Under Suharto a New Order was established, emphasizing economic development and social harmony Relations with Western countries improved and confrontation with Malaysia ended, but relations with China deteriorated. Indonesia became a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Suharto The military became powerful and extended its hold over economic management, which led to large-scale corruption Suharto also restricted political party activity In March 1967 he was the acting president By March ’68 he was elected president He continued to hold the office until 1998, being reelected unopposed five times His Golkar Party also won every election during this time

Suharto Suharto's regime suppressed secessionist movements and added Western New Guinea Suharto also faced problems from Aceh after the formation of the Gerakan Aceh Merdeka (GAM, or Free Aceh Movement) East Timor was a former Portuguese colony Suharto ordered an invasion and incorporated it into Indonesia in 1976

Suharto A guerrilla war against Indonesian occupation continued amid reports of brutality by the army Suharto faced challenges on the economic front The financial crisis of Asia in 1997 resulted in the plummeting value of the Indonesia currency, which lost 80 percent of its value in Riots escalated after May 1998, causing him to resign on May 21, 1998 He was replaced by Vice President Jusuf Habibie Suharto was placed under house arrest in 2000

Suharto In 2003 the Human Rights Commission of Indonesia began to examine atrocities committed under his regime By then Suharto was in poor health, often hospitalized, and therefore spared prosecution Indonesia returned to democratic government after his fall Suharto died in Jakarta on January 27, 2008, from multiple organ failure