Early life and career of Suharto

Suharto
Suharto, as commander of Kodam IV/Diponegoro, c. 1957
Born(1921-06-08)8 June 1921
Kemusuk, Dutch East Indies
Died27 January 2008(2008-01-27) (aged 86)
Jakarta, Indonesia
Allegiance
Service / branch KNIL
(1940–42)
PETA
(1942–45)
Indonesian Army
(1945–74)
Years of service1940—1974
Rank General of the Army
UnitKostrad
CommandsKodam IV/Diponegoro
Kostrad
Indonesian Army
Indonesian National Armed Forces
Battles / wars
Darul Islam Rebellion
West New Guinea dispute
Operation Trikora
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66
Other workPresident of Indonesia
(19671998)

Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was the second President of Indonesia, having held the office for 31 years from 1967 following Sukarno's removal until his resignation in 1998.

Suharto was born in a small village, Kemusuk, in the Godean area near Yogyakarta, during the Dutch colonial era.[1] He grew up in humble circumstances.[2] His Javanese Muslim parents divorced not long after his birth, and he was passed between foster parents for much of his childhood. During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Suharto served in Japanese-organised Indonesian security forces. Indonesia's independence struggle saw him joining the newly formed Indonesian army. Suharto rose to the rank of major general following Indonesian independence.

  1. ^ Soeharto, as related to G. Dwipayana and Ramadhan K.H. (1989), Soeharto: Pikiran, ucapan dan tindakan saya: otobiographi (Soeharto: My thoughts, words and deeds: an autobiography), PT Citra Lamtoro Gung Persada, Jakarta. ISBN 979-8085-01-9.
  2. ^ See the details in Chapter 2, 'Akar saya dari desa' (My village roots), in Soeharto, op. cit.