Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian statesman, engineer, scientist and inventor who served as the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. A little over two months after his inauguration as the seventh vice president in March 1998, he succeeded Suharto, who resigned after 32 years in office, thereby being the country's first vice president to assume the presidency intra-term. Originating from Sulawesi with Bugis-Gorontalese and Javanese ancestry,Habibie, B. J., et al. "BJ Habibie." Children 1000.1962 (2010). his presidency was seen as a landmark and transition to the Reform era.
Upon becoming president, he liberalized Indonesia's press and political party laws; ended Indonesian occupation of East Timor, which led to that country's independence; and held an early democratic election three years sooner than scheduled, which resulted in the end of his presidency. His 517-day presidency and 71-day vice-presidency were each the shortest in Indonesian history. Before entering government, Habibie contributed to the making of Indonesia's first domestic airplane, the IPTN N-250. As a result, he was granted the title "Father of Technology".
Early life and family Habibie was born in Parepare, South Sulawesi. His parents, Alwi Abdul Jalil Habibie,Elson, R.E., 2009. The idea of Indonesia. Penerbit Serambi. an agriculturist from ethnic Bugis-Gorontalese descent,Salam, S., 1986. BJ Habibie, Mutiara dari Timur. Intermasa.Habibie, B.J., 2010. Habibie & Ainun. THC Mandiri. from Gorontalo, and R. A. Tuti Marini Puspowardojo,Hendrowinoto, N.K.S. ed., 2004. Ibu Indonesia dalam kenangan. Bank Naskah Gramedia bekerja sama dengan Yayasan Biografi Indonesia. a Javanese noblewoman from Yogyakarta,Noer, G.S., 2015. Rudy: Kisah Masa Muda Sang Visioner. Bentang Pustaka. who met while studying in Bogor.
Habibie's paternal family comes from Kabila, just to the east of the town of Gorontalo in northern Sulawesi. He was the fourth of eight children. Habibie's father died when he was 14 years old.
In 2018, the Gorontalo provincial government agreed to support the construction of the B. J. Habibie's Monument in front of the main gate of Djalaluddin Airport in Gorontalo Regency. In addition, it was proposed that State University of Gorontalo be renamed in honour of Habibie although in the end, the suggestion was not adopted.
Education
Habibie went to Delft, the Netherlands, to study aviation and aerospace at the Technische Hogeschool Delft (Delft University of Technology), but for political reasons (the West New Guinea dispute between the Netherlands and Indonesia), he had to continue his study at the Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH Aachen University) in Aachen, Germany. In 1960, Habibie received an engineer's degree in Germany with the title Diplom-Ingenieur. He remained in Germany as a research assistant under Hans Ebner at the Lehrstuhl und Institut für Leichtbau, RWTH Aachen to conduct research for his doctoral degree.
Engineering career In 1962, Habibie returned to Indonesia for three months on sick leave. During this time, he was reacquainted with Hasri Ainun, the daughter of R. Mohamad Besari. Habibie had known Hasri Ainun in childhood, junior high school and in senior high school at SMA Kristen Dago (Dago Christian Senior High School), Bandung. The two married on 12 May 1962, returning to Germany shortly afterwards. Habibie and his wife settled in Aachen for a short period before moving to Oberforstbach. In May 1963 they had a son, Ilham Akbar Habibie.
Habibie later found employment with the railway stock firm Waggonfabrik Talbot, where he became an advisor in designing train wagons. Due to his work with Makosh, the head of train construction offered his position to Habibie upon retirement three years later, but Habibie refused the position.
In 1965, Habibie delivered his dissertation in aerospace engineering and received the grade of "very good", giving him the title Doktoringenieur (Dr.-Ing.). The same year, he accepted Hans Ebner's offer to continue his research on and work toward his habilitation, but he declined the offer to join RWTH as a professor. His thesis about light construction for supersonic or hypersonic states also attracted offers of employment from companies such as Boeing and Airbus, which Habibie again declined.
Habibie did accept a position with Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm in Hamburg. There, he developed theories on thermodynamics, construction, and aerodynamics known as the Habibie Factor (thermodynamics), Habibie Theorem (construction), and Habibie Method (aerodynamics), respectively. He worked for Messerschmitt on the development of the Airbus A-300B aircraft. In 1974, he was promoted to a middle management position (Leitender Angestellter) of the company.
In 1974, Suharto recruited Habibie to return to Indonesia as part of his drive to industrialize and develop the country. Habibie initially served as a special assistant to Ibnu Sutowo, chief executive officer of the state oil company Pertamina and Chair of Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (, BPPT). Two years later, Habibie was made CEO of the new state-owned enterprise Industri Pesawat Terbang Nurtanio (IPTN; Nurtanio Aircraft Industry), which in 1985 changed its name to Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (Nusantara Aircraft Industry; also abbreviated as IPTN) and is known as Indonesian Aerospace (PT. Dirgantara Indonesia) since 2000.
Political career Cabinet minister (1978–1998)
In 1978, he was appointed as state minister of research and technology (, Menristek). He continued to play an important role in IPTN other "strategic" industries in this post. By the 1980s, IPTN had grown considerably, specializing in the manufacture of helicopters and small passenger planes. Under Habibie's leadership, IPTN became a manufacturer of aircraft including Puma helicopters and CASA planes. It pioneered a small passenger airplane, the N-250 Gatotkaca, in 1995, but the project was a commercial failure. In developing Indonesia's aviation industry, he adopted an approach called "Begin at the End and End at the Beginning". In this method, elements such as basic research became the last things upon which to focus, whilst actual manufacturing of the planes was placed as the first objective.
By 1991, Habibie oversaw ten state-owned industries including ship- and train building, steel, arms, communications, and energy. A 1993 estimate determined that the estimates used nearly $2 billion a year in state funding, although the government's opaque accounting practices meant that the size of the industries was not completely known.
As minister, Habibie created the OFP (Overseas Fellowship Program), STMDP (Science Technology and Manpower Development Program) and STAID (Science and Technology for Industrial Development). These three programs provided scholarships to thousands of high school graduates to earn their bachelor's degrees in the STEM fields and for other technical professionals to continue their study for master's and doctorate programs in the United States, Europe, Japan, and other countries.
In Suharto's regime, as was expected of senior government executives, Habibie became a member of the Golkar organisation. Suharto appointed him as deputy daily coordinator for the chairman of the executive board in 1992, and the following year he became the daily coordinator.
While serving in cabinet, Habibie was also elected as the first Chair of the Indonesian Association of Muslim Intellectuals (ICMI) in 1990. This modernist Muslim organization provided him with a political base, linked to but independent of the Suharto administration.
Vice presidency (1998)
In January 1998, after accepting nomination for a seventh term as president, Suharto announced the selection criteria for the nomination of a vice president. Suharto did not mention Habibie by name, but his suggestion that the next vice president should have a mastery of science and technology made it obvious he had Habibie in mind.
In that year, in the midst of the Asian Financial Crisis, this suggestion was received badly, causing the rupiah to fall. Despite this, Habibie was elected as vice president in March 1998.
Presidency (1998–1999)
On 21 May 1998, just two months into Habibie's vice presidency, Suharto announced his resignation. Habibie, as the Constitution says, succeeded him as president. The following day, Habibie announced the Development Reform Cabinet, which removed some of the most controversial ministers in Suharto's last cabinet while maintaining others, with no major figures from the opposition. Within days of his appointment, he asked his relatives to resign from government positions, promised an early election, repealed some legislation, and ordered the release of political prisoners.
East Timor referendum Habibie was opposed to East Timorese independence but did offer East Timor special autonomy.Miller, M. (2004). 'From reform to repression: the post-New Order's shifting security policies in Aceh', Review of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs, 38(4), 129–162.
Timorese independence forces led by the National Council of Timorese Resistance had been calling for a referendum in the territory for some time. Its chief diplomat, José Ramos-Horta, proposed a transitional period of autonomy leading up to a referendum. In late 1998, John Howard, the Prime Minister of Australia, sent a letter to Habibie suggesting that Indonesia defuse the East Timorese issue by providing autonomy to be followed by the promise of a referendum in the long run, following the method used by France to settle New Caledonian demands for independence. Wishing to avoid the impression that Indonesia ruled East Timor as a colony, Habibie surprised some by announcing that a referendum, offering a choice between special autonomy and independence, would be held immediately in East Timor. Leaders of the Indonesian armed forces (ABRI) were not consulted on this decision.
On 30 August 1999, the referendum was held and the East Timorese people overwhelmingly chose independence. Subsequently, pro-Indonesian militias killed and displaced large numbers of people during the 1999 East Timorese crisis. On 10 September, General Wiranto allegedly threatened to stage a military coup if Habibie allowed in peacekeeping forces, causing Habibie to back down. On 12 September, however, Habibie accepted a UN-mandated peacekeeping force to halt violence. A period of UN administration followed and East Timor became independent in May 2002.
Suharto's corruption charge The MPR Special Session in November 1998 decried the presence of corruption in Indonesia, focusing particularly on Suharto. In response to this, Habibie then appointed Andi Muhammad Ghalib as Attorney General. A tape of a telephone conversation between Habibie and Ghalib was made public. It raised concerns about the veracity of the investigation by suggesting that the interrogation of Suharto was intended only for public appearances.
Under Habibie, the Indonesian government also began investigating and prosecuting Suharto's youngest son, Hutomo Mandala Putra (commonly known as Tommy Suharto). Ghalib charged Tommy in December 1998 in conjunction with the Goro scandal, where the government, under pressure from Tommy, allegedly gave him a desirable parcel and below-market loan for the construction of a Goro supermarket. However, Tommy was found innocent in the case after several key witnesses, including Habibie aide Rahardi Ramelan, changed their testimony and declared that the deal did not cause losses to the state.
Economy and the Chinese Indonesians