Prabowo Subianto

Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously the 26th minister of defense under president Joko Widodo from 2019 to 2024. Prabowo is Indonesia's third president to have a military background after Suharto and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and is the oldest first-term president in Indonesian history.

Prabowo is the first Indonesian president to have a noble background. He is the 8th descendant of the Sultan Agung of Mataram lineage and the Yogyakarta Sultanate, Sultan Hamengkubuwono (HB) I. Raden Kartoatmojo then married a nobleman from the Yogyakarta Sultanate, RA Djojoatmojo. RA Djojoatmojo is the 4th descendant of Sultan Hamengkubuwono I. The fruit of this marriage continued to the descendants of Raden Tumenggung Mangkuprojo and then Raden Mas Margono Djojohadikusumo (Prabowo's grandfather).

Prabowo Subianto graduated from the Indonesian Military Academy (Akademi Militer Nasional) in 1970 and primarily served in the Special Forces (Kopassus) until he was appointed to lead the Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) in 1998. Later that same year, he was discharged from the military and subsequently banned from entering the United States for allegedly committing human rights abuses.

In early 2008, Prabowo's inner circle established the Gerindra Party. In the 2009 presidential election, he ran unsuccessfully for the vice presidency as Megawati Sukarnoputri's running mate. He contested the 2014 presidential election and was defeated by Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, which he initially disputed. He made another unsuccessful run for the presidency in 2019 against Joko Widodo, with Sandiaga Uno as his running mate and with the support of Gerindra, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Democratic Party (Demokrat), and Berkarya Party. His refusal to accept the result saw his followers stage protests that sparked riots in Jakarta. However, after a heated contest, Prabowo Subianto joined Joko Widodo's cabinet as his minister of defense for the 2019 to 2024 period.

On 10 October 2021, Gerindra announced Prabowo as their candidate in the 2024 Indonesian presidential election. On 12 August 2022, Prabowo announced that he accepted Gerindra's nomination. Prabowo declared victory in the election on 14 February, as early unofficial polling showed him with a lead in the first round of voting. On 20 March, the General Election Commission (KPU) certified the results and declared him as the president-elect of Indonesia. The Constitutional Court (MK) confirmed his status on 22 April 2024. Prabowo was sworn in as the 8th president of Indonesia on 20 October 2024.