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Early life
Habibie - was born in Parepare, South Sulawesi Province to
Alwi Abdul Jalil Habibie and R. A. Tuti Marini Puspowardojo. His father was an
agriculturist from Gorontalo of Bugis descent and his mother was a Javanese
noblewoman from Yogyakarta. His parents met while studying in Bogor. When he
was 14 years old, Habibie's father died.
Following his father's death, Habibie continued his studies
in Jakarta and then in 1955 moved to Germany.
In 1960, Habibie received a degree in engineering in
Germany, giving him 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.
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, 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.
When Habibie's minimum wage salary forced him into part-time
work, he found employment with the automotive marque Talbot, where he became an
advisor. Habibie worked on two projects which received funding from Deutsche
Bundesbahn.
Due to his work with Makosh, the head of train constructions
offered his position to Habibie upon retirement three years later, but Habibie
refused.
In 1965, Habibie delivered his thesis in aerospace
engineering and received the grade of "very good" for his
dissertation, giving him the title Doktor der Ingenieurwissenschaften. During
the same year, he accepted Hans Ebner's offer to continue his research on
Thermoelastisitas and work toward his Habilitation, but he declined the offer
to join RWTH as a professor per se. 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,
Habibie Theorem, and Habibie Method, respectively.[citation needed]. He worked
for Messerschmit on the development of the Airbus A-300B aircraft. In 1974, he
was promoted to vice president of the company.
Habibie's time in Europe may have contributed to his
interest in Leica cameras.
Career in Indonesia
In 1974, Suharto recruited Habibie to return to Indonesia as
part of Suharto's drive to industrialize and develop the country. Habibie
initially served as a special assistant to Ibnu Sutowo, the CEO of state oil
company Pertamina. Two years later, in 1976, Habibie was made Chief Executive
Officer of the new state-owned enterprise Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara
(IPTN). (In 1985, PT. Nurtanio changed its name to Indonesian Aviation Industry
and is now known as Indonesian Aerospace Inc. (Dirgantara)). In 1978, he was
appointed as Minister of Resesarch and Technology. He continued to play an
important role in IPTN other "strategic" industries in this post.[6]
By the 1980s, IPTN had grown considerably, specializing in the manufacture of
helicopters and small passenger planes; 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.
Habibie became a pilot, assisted in his training by A.B.
Wolff, former chief of staff of the Dutch Air Force. In 1995, he flew an N-250
(dubbed Gatotkoco) commuter plane.
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. 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 Gatokaca, in 1995, but the project was a commercial
failure.
Member of Golkar
File:President Suharto announces his retirement, ABC
1994.webm
1994 ABC news report of Suharto announcing he would retire
in 2008, including an interview with Habibie - the then Research and Technology
Minister - declaring no interest becoming president.
In Suharto's regime, as was expected of senior government
executives, Habibie became a member of the Golkar organisation. From 1993–1999,
he was a daily coordinator for the chairman of the executive board.
Vice presidency
In January 1998, after accepting nomination for a 7th 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
and protests (the former minister Emil Salim tried to nominate himself as vice
president), Habibie was elected vice president in March 1998.
Presidency
Main article: Post-Suharto Era
Rise to office
Habibie takes the presidential oath of office on 21 May
1998.
By May 1998, problems including poverty had caused such
discontent that Suharto's government fell into crisis. On 13 May, the shooting
of four students at Trisakti University in Jakarta, caused extreme anger, which
in turn led to widespread riots and lootings. There were now explicit calls for
Suharto to step down as president of Indonesia.
Suharto responded by saying on 19 May 1998 that if he
stepped down, the vice president would become president, and in a not too
subtle jab at Habibie he added he was not sure whether the vice president could
solve the problems facing the country.
After learning of Suharto's comments from television
reports, Habibie discounted his mentor and became increasingly sympathetic to
those who wanted Suharto to step down. While careful not to oppose him directly
or support those who did, he left the president in little doubt that he saw
himself as Suharto's legitimate successor.
Suharto, faced with dwindling civilian and military support,
even among loyalists like Wiranto and Ginandjar Kartasasmita, resigned late on
the evening of 20 May 1998.
The next morning, on 21 May 1998, Suharto publicly announced
his resignation and Habibie was immediately sworn in as president. There were
mixed reactions to Habibie's elevation to the presidency. Hard-line reformists
saw him as an extension of Suharto's regime while moderate reformists saw him
as leading a transitional government.
With the release of Habibie's 2006 book, Detik-Detik Yang
Menentukan: Jalan Panjang Indonesia Menuju Demokrasi (Decisive Moments:
Indonesia's Long Road Towards Democracy), there is speculation that Suharto had
wanted Habibie to resign along with him.
In Javanese style, Suharto had subtly hinted at this
intention. Habibie, despite being of Javanese descent, neither took the hint
nor acquiesced. Because his intentions had been ignored, Suharto showed nothing
but contempt for Habibie and never spoke to his former colleague again.
Cabinet
Habibie's cabinet, which was called the Development Reform
Cabinet, employed many of those present in Suharto's last cabinet.However, to
show his reformist intentions, Habibie included the United Development Party
(PPP) member Hamzah Haz.
East Timor
Habibie opposed East Timorese Independence but did consider
giving East Timor special autonomy.
In late 1998, John Howard, then Prime Minister of Australia
advised Indonesia of a change in Australian foreign policy, to whit Australia
would advocate a referendum in East Timor on independence within a decade.
Other international pressure also mounted on Indonesia to allow
self-determination for the province. 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 in East Timor. ABRI opposed this decision.
On 30 August 1999, the referendum was held and the East
Timorese people overwhelmingly chose Independence in mostly free and fair
elections. However, the retreat of Indonesian troops from East Timor created
the 1999 East Timorese crisis where many were killed. Although Habibie favored
the quick deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to halt violence, the military
opposed this plan. On September 10, General Wiranto allegedly threatened to
stage a military coup if Habibie allowed in peacekeeping forces, causing
Habibie to back down.[16] Habibie also publicly ordered security personnel to
stop violence in the territory, but his orders went largely unheeded.
Suharto's corruption charge
The MPR Special Session in November 1998 declared that an
investigation should be made into corruption in Indonesia, focussing
particularly on Suharto.
Habibie formed a special commission on corruption which, to
the Reformasi, represented a gesture of good faith. The noted lawyer Adnan
Buyung Nasution was invited to chair the investigation. The broad scope of the
terms of reference Nasution suggested was unacceptable to Habibie, who then
appointed Attorney General and loyalist, Andi Muhammad Ghalib.
On 9 December 1998, Suharto was questioned for three hours
by Ghalib. The Habibie government declared that Suharto had gained his wealth
through corruption.
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, Tommy Suharto. Tommy
Suharto was charged by Ghalib in December 1998 in conjunction with the Goro
scandal, where the government, under pressure from Tommy Suharto, allegedly gave
him a desirable parcel and below-market loan for the construction of a Goro
supermarket. However, Tommy Suharto was found innocent in the case after
several key witnesses, including one of Habibie's aides - Rahardi Ramelan -
changed their testimony and declared that the deal did not cause losses to the
state.
The economy
Habibie's government stabilized the economy in the face of
the Asian financial crisis and the chaos of the last few months of Suharto's
presidency.
Social issues
Habibie's government began to make concilliatory gestures
towards Chinese Indonesians who, because of their elite status, were targeted
in the riots of 1998. In September 1998, Habibie issued a 'Presidential
Instruction' forbidding use of the terms pribumi and non-pribumi to
differentiate indigenous and non-indigenous Indonesians.
In May 1999, Habibie issued a further instruction directing
that a display of an ID card would suffice as proof of Indonesian citenzenship,
whereas previously, displaying a 'Letter of Evidence of Republic of Indonesia
Citizenship' (SBKRI) was required. Although the Chinese Indonesian community
was not mentioned specifically, it is clear these policies were targeted
towards Chinese Indonesians who, in the Suharto years, were referred to as
non-Pribumi and had to display the SBKRI to prove their Indonesian citizenship.
Education
When Habibie was State Minister for Research and Technology,
he created the OFP (Overseas Fellowship Program), SMDP (Science and Manpower
Development Program) and STAID (Science and Technology for Industrial
Development). These three programs were to provide scholarships to thousands of
students to continue their study for master’s and doctorate program in the
United States, Europe, Japan, and other countries.
Political Reform
Under Habibie, Indonesia made significant changes to its
political system that expanded competition and freedom of speech. Shortly after
taking office, in June 1998, Habibie's government lifted the Suharto-era
restriction on political parties and ended censorship by dissolving the
Information Ministry. He also quickly committed to holding democratic
elections, albeit on an initially vague timetable. In December, he proposed
political reform laws that were passed by the legislature and MPR session.
These laws set elections for December 1999, reduced the number of seats in
parliament held by the military, and barred political activity by civil
servants.
However, political opponents criticized Habibie for agreeing
to give the military some seats in parliament, and taking little action on
other military and judicial reforms.The military retained its territorial
command system and practice of seconding officers to civil-service posts, and
there were few prosecutions for Suharto-era corruption under Habibie.
End of presidency
Although he had been viewed as leading a transitional
government, Habibie seemed determined to continue as president. Habibie was
initially unclear about whether he would seek a full term as president when he
announced parliamentary elections in June 1998.Habibie faced opposition from
many within the government party, Golkar; in July 1998, he struggled to win
control of the party by appointing Akbar Tandjung as chair of the party, but
was ultimately able to defeat a rival camp including former Vice President Try
Sutrisno, Defence Minister Edi Sudrajat, Siswono, and Sarwono.
However, at the same time, Habibie began to lose support
from Akbar Tandlung and a faction in Golkar, composed of both reformers and
hardliners, that wanted to oust him. In March 1999, Golkar put forth five
presidential nominees: Habibie, Tandjung, Wiranto, Hamungbukuwono X, and
Ginandjar.[24] In May 1999, Golkar announced that Habibie would be their
presidential candidate after extensive lobbying, but a large faction in the
party remained loyal to Tandjung and opposed to Habibie.
At the 1999 MPR General Session in October, Habibie
delivered an accountability speech which was a report of what he had achieved
during his presidency. Once this was completed, MPR members began voting to
decide if they would accept or reject his speech. Habibie attempted to win the
support of the military by offering the vice-presidency to General Wiranto, but
his offer was declined.Tandjung's Golkar faction broke with the ranks and voted
against him, and his accountability speech was rejected by 355 votes to 322.
Seeing that it would be inappropriate to press his candidacy for the presidency
after having his accountability speech rejected, Habibie withdrew his
nomination.
Post-presidency
Since relinquishing the presidency, he has spent more time
in Germany than in Indonesia, though he has during Susilo Bambang Yudoyono's
presidency been active both as a presidential adviser and through the Habibie
Centre to ensure democratisation in Indonesia.
In September 2006, he released a book called Detik-Detik
Yang Menentukan: Jalan Panjang Indonesia Menuju Demokrasi (Decisive Moments:
Indonesia's Long Road Towards Democracy). The book recalled the events of May
1998 which led to his rise to the Presidency. In the book, he controversially
accuses Lieutenant General Prabowo Subianto, Suharto's son-in-law (at that
time) and the Kostrad Commander, of planning a coup d'état against him in May
1998.
Family
Habibie was married to Hasri Ainun Besari, a medical doctor,
from 12 May 1962 until her death on 22 May 2010. The couple had two sons, Ilham
Akbar Habibie and Thareq Kemal Habibie. B. J. Habibie's brother, Junus Effendi
Habibie, was Indonesian ambassador to the Netherlands.[27][28] After his wife's
death, Habibie published a book titled Habibie & Ainun which recounts his
relationship with Hasri Ainun from their courtship until her death. The book
has been adapted into a film of the same name which was released on December
20, 2012.
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