Indonesian President-elect Promoted to General

Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto was promoted to the rank of general two weeks after being elected Indonesian president and will take office in October.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo today promoted his likely successor Prabowo Subianto to the rank of general in a ceremony attended by military and police officials at the Armed Forces Headquarters in the capital Jakarta.

"This rank is a way to honor and reaffirm his dedication to the people and the country. I would like to congratulate General Prabowo Subianto," President Widodo said, then pinned the four-star shoulder strap to Prabowo's shirt.

General is the second highest military rank in Indonesia, after field marshal, and is usually held by the defense minister. Mr. Prabowo is the seventh person to be promoted to general in Indonesia since 1998.

President Joko Widodo (left) pins the four-star epaulette on Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto at a ceremony at the Armed Forces Headquarters in Jakarta on February 28. Photo: AP

Mr. Prabowo, 72 years old, declared himself the president of Indonesia on February 14, after hundreds of millions of voters went to the polls to elect the country's leader and quick vote counts showed he won nearly 60% of the vote.

In previous elections, the "quick count" results have been accurate, so Mr Prabowo is almost certain to become President Widodo's successor in October.

Mr Prabowo was born into an elite family, with his father serving as a minister under the late Indonesian President Sukarno. However, he had to live in exile since he was young when his father, one of Indonesia's most famous economists, fled abroad for expressing his views against Sukarno.

In 1967, when General Suharto came to power, his family returned to Indonesia. Prabowo joined the army in 1970, served in the Special Forces (Kopassus), and then married President Suharto's daughter in 1983. This was considered the launching pad for Prabowo's political career.

In 1998, he was appointed head of the Indonesian military's Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad). During this time, Prabowo deployed Indonesian special forces to the Indonesian capital as protests threatened the Suharto regime. He has also been accused of kidnapping more than 20 democracy activists, 13 of whom are still missing, as well as carrying out alleged human rights abuses in Papua and East Timor, formerly part of Indonesia, now Timor-Leste.

Several of Prabowo's subordinates were convicted, but he never faced trial and always denied any involvement. However, after the fall of the Suharto regime in 1998, the Indonesian military expelled Prabowo. He divorced his wife and left Indonesia again, going into exile in Jordan.

Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto at a press conference in Jakarta on February 23. Photo: AFP — Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto at a press conference in Jakarta on February 23. Photo: *AFP*

Prabowo returned and founded his own political party in 2008. He ran for president in 2014 and 2019, but lost both times to President Widodo.

After his most recent defeat in 2019, he surprised everyone by abandoning his hardline stance and switching to supporting President Widodo, with the ambition of becoming his successor.

After being appointed by President Widodo as defense minister, he underwent a sudden image change. In recent years, he has shown himself to be a more charismatic, softer politician. He even invited Widodo's son to run as his "deputy" in this year's presidential election.

Huyen Le (According to Reuters, AP )

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