Portal:Indonesia/BOTW/53, 2006

Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (born June 25, 1936), or simply Habibie, was the third President of Indonesia, holding office from 1998 to 1999. He was born in Pare-Pare, South Sulawesi; and studied at the Bandung Institute of Technology. In 1950, when Habibie was fourteen, he became acquainted with Lieutenant Colonel Suharto. Suharto quickly became a family friend.

From 1955 to 1965, he studied aerospace engineering at the RWTH Aachen, Germany, receiving a doctorate in 1965. He then worked for Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm in Hamburg. In 1974, Suharto convinced him to come back to Indonesia where he took up the position of Technological Adviser to the President. From 1978 to 1998 Habibie served as Minister of Technology and Research in Suharto's Cabinet. He pushed for a leapfrog strategy of development, which he hoped would bypass the foundational low-skill technology stages to turn Indonesia into an industrialized nation.

Habibie was elected Vice President in March 1998. On 21st May 1998, Suharto publicly announced his resignation and Habibie was immediately sworn in as President. He presided over the 1999 Legislative Elections, the first free election since the 1955 Legislative Election. Habibie surprised everyone by announcing that a referendum, choosing between special autonomy and independence, would be held in East Timor.

Since relinquishing the presidency, Habibie has spent more time in Germany than in Indonesia. Habibie is married to Hasri Ainun with whom he had two children.(Read more...)