biography
pronunciation:
[soohah(r)toh]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1921– )
|
| biography:
| Indonesian soldier, statesman, and president (1968–98), born in Kemusu, Java. As is common in Java, he used only his given name. Educated for service in the Dutch colonial army, in 1943 he was given command of the Japanese-sponsored Indonesian army, and in 1965 he became Indonesia's chief of the army staff. The policies of President Sukarno led to a threat of civil war in 1965 and 1966, and Suharto assumed executive power in 1967, ordering the mass arrest and internment of alleged Communists. He became titular president in 1968, thereafter being re-elected to office every five years, but was forced to step down in 1998 following an economic crisis and civil disturbance. |
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