Megawati Sukarnoputri

Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (born January 23, 1947), was President of Indonesia from July 2001 to October 20, 2004. She was defeated for re-election in the 2004 Indonesian presidential election on September 20.

Political career

Megawati avoided politics for nearly 20 years, describing herself as a simple housewife, although her father's followers continued to see her as his political heir. In 1987, however, Megawati and her husband joined the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), a government-sanctioned party which provided a facade of democratic choice in Suharto's "New Order" government. As a reward for her apparent acceptance of the government, Megawati was elected to Parliament.

Related Topics:
1987 - Indonesian Democratic Party

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In 1993 Megawati became the leader of PDI, where she became a popular leader of the opposition to Suharto. Despite her relative lack of political experience, she was popular in part for her status as the daughter of Sukarno, but also because she was seen as free of corruption and having admirable personal qualities. Under her leadership, PDI gained a large following among the urban poor and both urban and rural middle classes.

Related Topics:
1993 - Middle class

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By 1996 the government realized it had made a mistake in allowing Megawati to enter politics, and forced her removal from the leadership of the PDI. This triggered rioting in Jakarta. Megawati was banned from contesting the May 1997 general election. This only increased her popularity. She formed her own party, Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan/PDI-P) (Perjuangan means "Struggle.")

Related Topics:
1996 - Jakarta - May 1997 - Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle

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The Asian economic crisis which began in 1997, as well as increasing public anger at pervasive corruption, brought about the end of Suharto’s long rule, and he resigned in May 1998. His successor, Jusuf Habibie, promised free elections in 1999, and the PDI-P rapidly became the main rival to the government party, Golkar.

Related Topics:
Asian economic crisis - May 1998 - Jusuf Habibie - 1999 - Golkar

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At the June 1999 elections, PDI-P emerged as the largest party, but did not win an absolute majority of votes, or a majority of seats in the Parliament. Under Indonesia's new constitution, the President was chosen by the legislature, and Megawati appeared to have the strongest claim to the presidency. But the other parties united to block her, partly because of Muslim opposition to a woman president. Her erstwhile friend and ally, Abdurrahman Wahid, was chosen instead. Megawati agreed to become the Vice President.

Related Topics:
Abdurrahman Wahid - Vice President

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Wahid, however, had suffered several strokes and soon proved to be unable to carry out the role of President. He was also accused of tolerating corruption in the administration. In July 2001 the parties in the legislature united to force his resignation. On July 23, 2001, Megawati was duly installed as the new President of the Republic of Indonesia.

Related Topics:
2001 - July 23

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Under Megawati, the process of democratic reform begun under Habibie and Wahid continued, albeit slowly and erratically. Megawati appeared to see her role mainly as a symbol of national unity, and she rarely actively intervened in government business. The military, disgraced at the time of Suharto's fall, regained much of its influence. Corruption continued to be pervasive, though Megawati herself was seldom blamed for this.

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Some Indonesian scholars explained Megawati's apparent passivity in office by reference to Javanese mythology. Megawati, they said, saw her father, Sukarno, as a "Good King" of Javanese legend. Suharto was the "Bad Prince" who had usurped the Good King's throne. Megawati was the Avenging Daughter who overthrew the Bad Prince and regained the Good King's throne. Once this had been achieved, they said, Megawati was content to reign as the Good Queen and leave the business of government to others.

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Although by 2004 Indonesia's economy had partly recovered from the 1997 crisis, unemployment and poverty remained high, and there was considerable disappointment at Megawati's presidency. The Indonesian Constitution was amended to provide for the direct election of the President, and Megawati stood for a second term. She consistently trailed in the opinion polls, due in part to the strong preference for male candidates among Muslim voters, and in part due to what was widely seen as a mediocre performance in office. Despite a somewhat better than expected performance in the first round of the elections, in the second round she was defeated by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. In one of the more curious departures from high office in recent times, Megawati neither conceded defeat, nor congratulated her successor, nor attended his inauguration. She simply vacated the Presidential Palace and returned to private life without making any statement.

Related Topics:
2004 - 1997 - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

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