45 Facts About Megawati Sukarnoputri

1.

Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004.

2.

Megawati Sukarnoputri previously served as the eighth vice president from 1999 to 2001.

3.

Megawati Sukarnoputri is the first Indonesian president and as of 2023 the only vice president to be born after Indonesia proclaimed its independence in 1945.

4.

Megawati Sukarnoputri ran for re-election in the 2004 presidential election, but was defeated by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

5.

Megawati Sukarnoputri ran again in the 2009 presidential election, but Yudhoyono defeated her for a second time.

6.

Megawati Sukarnoputri was instrumental in creating the Corruption Eradication Commission, an agency task to combatting corruption in Indonesia.

7.

Megawati Sukarnoputri set up a general election system for the first time, in which the Indonesian people can directly elect the president and vice president, in addition to electing candidates for the legislature.

8.

Megawati Sukarnoputri is the first and current leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, one of Indonesia's largest political parties.

9.

Megawati Sukarnoputri is the eldest daughter of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno.

10.

Megawati Sukarnoputri's name, Sukarnoputri, is a patronym, not a family name; Javanese often do not have family names.

11.

Megawati Sukarnoputri is often referred to as simply Megawati or Mega, derived from Sanskrit meaning 'cloud goddess'.

12.

Megawati Sukarnoputri was born in Yogyakarta to Sukarno, who had declared Indonesia's independence from the Netherlands in 1945 and Fatmawati, one of his nine wives.

13.

Megawati Sukarnoputri danced for her father's guests and developed a gardening hobby.

14.

Megawati Sukarnoputri was 19 when her father relinquished power in 1966 and was succeeded by a government which eventually came to be led by President Suharto.

15.

Megawati Sukarnoputri attended Padjadjaran University in Bandung to study agriculture but dropped out in 1967 to be with her father following his fall.

16.

In 1970, the year her father died, Megawati Sukarnoputri went to the University of Indonesia to study psychology but dropped out after two years.

17.

Up to that time, Megawati Sukarnoputri had seen herself as a housewife, but in 1987 she joined PDI and ran for a People's Representative Council seat.

18.

Megawati Sukarnoputri quickly became popular, her status as Sukarno's daughter offsetting her lack of oratorical skills.

19.

Megawati Sukarnoputri was not reelected, but continued as a PDI member.

20.

Megawati Sukarnoputri's candidacy received such overwhelming support that her election at the Congress became a formality.

21.

Suryadi's supporters attacked PDI Headquarters and faced resistance from Megawati Sukarnoputri supporters stationed there.

22.

The restrictions on Megawati Sukarnoputri were removed and she began to consolidate her political position.

23.

Megawati Sukarnoputri was elected Chair and was nominated as PDI-P's presidential candidate.

24.

At the last minute, Megawati Sukarnoputri chose not to attend, because she decided that she could not trust Amien.

25.

Megawati Sukarnoputri threw her support behind Matori Abdul Djalil, the Chair of PKB.

26.

Megawati Sukarnoputri was overwhelmingly defeated by Amien, who in addition to enjoying Central Axis support was backed by Golkar.

27.

Megawati Sukarnoputri took an early lead, but was overtaken and lost with 313 votes compared to Wahid's 373.

28.

PDI-P had considered nominating Megawati Sukarnoputri, but were concerned that the Central Axis and Golkar coalition would again thwart her.

29.

Megawati Sukarnoputri faced stiff competition from Hamzah Haz, Akbar Tanjung and General Wiranto.

30.

Hamzah stayed in the race, but Megawati Sukarnoputri defeated him 396 to 284.

31.

The First PDI-P Congress was held in Semarang, Central Java, in April 2000, at which Megawati Sukarnoputri was re-elected as Chair for a second term.

32.

Megawati Sukarnoputri consolidated her position within PDI-P by taking harsh measures to remove potential rivals.

33.

Disillusioned with what he perceived to be a cult of personality developing around Megawati Sukarnoputri, Eros left PDI-P.

34.

Megawati Sukarnoputri kept his position as a People's Representative Council member, but left the party to become a university lecturer.

35.

At another occasion, when the political tide began to turn against Wahid, Megawati Sukarnoputri defended him and lashed out against critics.

36.

In 2001, Megawati Sukarnoputri began to distance herself from Wahid as a Special Session of the MPR approached and her prospects of becoming president improved.

37.

Megawati Sukarnoputri thus became the sixth woman to lead a Muslim-majority country.

38.

Megawati Sukarnoputri was joined by vice-presidential candidate Hasyim Muzadi, general chairman of Indonesia's largest Islamic organisation Nahdlatul Ulama.

39.

Megawati Sukarnoputri did not attend the new president's inauguration, and never had congratulated him.

40.

On 11 September 2007 Megawati Sukarnoputri announced her candidacy in the 2009 presidential election at a PDI-P gathering.

41.

On 24 February 2012, Megawati Sukarnoputri distanced herself from polls that placed her as a top contender for the 2014 presidential election.

42.

Megawati Sukarnoputri gained position as Head of National Research and Innovation Agency Steering Committee since 5 May 2021, and she was formally appointed on 13 September 2021.

43.

Megawati Sukarnoputri perished in a plane crash in Biak, West Irian, on 22 January 1970.

44.

Megawati Sukarnoputri then married Taufiq Kiemas on 25 March 1973.

45.

Megawati Sukarnoputri had three children, Mohammad Rizki Pratama, Muhammad Prananda Prabowo, and Puan Maharani.