Prabowo Subianto

Prabowo's father, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo (1917-2001), was originally from Kebumen, Central Java.

He was an economist who served as former President Sukarno's minister for the economy and Suharto's minister for research and technology.

Sumitro named Prabowo after his own younger brother who was killed in an incident against Japanese forces in Lengkong, Tangerang during the Indonesian National Revolution.

Prabowo's mother, Dora Marie Sigar (1921–2008), was a Protestant Christian of Minahasan descent, who originated from the Sigar-Maengkom family in Langowan, North Sulawesi.

They were married in Utrecht, Netherlands.

With the pedigrees of his father and grandfather, Prabowo is the third generation of a family that has served high positions in Indonesia since its establishment in 1945.

Prabowo and Titiek have a son, Didit Hediprasetyo, who lived in Boston before settling in Paris to pursue a career in fashion design.

While his son has shown little interest in politics, Prabowo Subianto is uncle to Gerindra politicians Budi Djiwandono, Aryo Djojohadikusumo and Rahayu Saraswati Djojohadikusumo who together continue the Djojohadikusumo political lineage.

Prabowo Subianto has two older sisters, Bianti Djiwandono, who was born in 1948, and Maryani Djojohadikusumo, who was born in 1950.

Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (EYD: Prabowo Subianto Joyohadikusumo, born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman and retired honorary army general, who has served as the 26th Indonesian Minister of Defense since 2019.

His only brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, was born in 1954.

Due to his father's political exile borne from differences with President Sukarno in the 1960s in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, Prabowo and his siblings have a cosmopolitan background.

During his high school years, he studied at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Between 1966 and 1968, the family lived in London, where Prabowo attended and graduated from The American School in London.

Sumitro subsequently encouraged his son to attend a military academy.

One of Prabowo's role models was Turkish military figure Atatürk, and according to peers and observers, Prabowo was talented with a passion for stratagems and had an appetite for political power.

Sumitro himself came from an elite background.

His father, Margono Djojohadikusumo, was the founder of the country's first state bank Bank Negara Indonesia, the first leader of Indonesia's provisional Supreme Advisory Council, and a member of the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence that drafted the steps for Indonesia's independence.

Prabowo Subianto graduated from the Indonesian Military Academy in 1970 and mostly served in the Special Forces (Kopassus) until he was appointed to lead the Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) in 1998.

He has been described as a right-wing nationalist.

Prabowo Subianto enrolled in the Indonesian Military Academy in Magelang in 1970.

He graduated in 1974 with others who would gain senior leadership positions such as Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

In 1976, Prabowo Subianto served in the Indonesian National Army Special Force Kopassus and was assigned as the commander of Group 1 Komando Pasukan Sandhi Yudha (Kopassandha), which was one of the Indonesian Army's Nanggala commando units in East Timor, the former Portuguese territory that Indonesia had invaded the previous year.

Prabowo, then 26 years old, was the youngest Nanggala commander.

Prabowo led the mission to capture the vice president of Fretilin, who was the first Prime Minister of East Timor, Nicolau dos Reis Lobato.

Guiding Prabowo Subianto was Antonio Lobato – Nicolau's younger brother.

On 31 December 1978, Prabowo's company found and fatally shot Nicolau in the stomach as he was being escorted in Maubisse, fifty kilometres south of Dili.

Prabowo Subianto in 1983 married Titiek Suharto, the late President Suharto's second daughter.

Prabowo's eldest sister, Bianti, is married to J. Soedradjad Djiwandono, Governor of Bank Indonesia from 1993 until 1998, while her older sister, Maryani, married a French entrepreneur Didier Lemaistre who died in 2018.

Prabowo's brother Hashim is one of the richest businessmen in Indonesia with assets across the globe from Indonesia to Europe and North America.

In 1998, he was discharged from the military and subsequently banned from entering the United States for allegedly committing human rights violations.

In early 2008, Prabowo's inner circle, including Fadli Zon, 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 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 and Berkarya Party.

His refusal to accept the result saw his followers stage protests that sparked deadly riots in Jakarta.

However, after a heated contestation, Prabowo Subianto joined the cabinet as Minister of Defense for the 2019 to 2024 period.

On 10 October 2021, Gerindra announced Prabowo Subianto as their candidate in the 2024 Indonesian presidential election.

On 12 August 2022, Prabowo Subianto announced that he accepted Gerindra's nomination to contest the 2024 presidential election.

Prabowo declared victory in the election on 14 February, as early unofficial polling showed him with a lead in the first round of voting.