Indonesia: New President Subianto Takes Office

He took office after Widodo, who led the country for the past 10 years

Prabowo Subianto, a 73-year-old former Indonesian military general and outgoing defense minister, was sworn in as Indonesia’s new president on October 20. Subianto, who succeeded Joko Widodo (who had been in power for the past 10 years), was sworn in before Parliament in Jakarta.

Head of the Greater Indonesia Movement, Subianto has already largely proven himself in the first round of elections held in February 2024, when he received 58.6% of the vote. He is now at the helm of a country of 280 million people, which is the fourth most populous country in the world. Indonesia is also the largest economy in Southeast Asia, a country where half of the population is under 30 years old.

Subianto, according to analysts, is expected to run the country by continuing the work of Widodo, as evidenced by the confirmation of Shri Mulyani Indrawati as Finance Minister and Bahlil Lahadalia as Energy Minister. Upon taking office, he explained that his main goals were to eradicate corruption and achieve food and energy self-sufficiency.