35 Facts About Sudharmono

Sudharmono, known by his nickname, Pak Dar, was an Indonesian Army officer and politician, who served as the fifth vice president of Indonesia from 1988 until 1993 under the New Order regime.

Sudharmono was born on 12 March 1927, in Gresik, East Java.

Sudharmono became the Commander of the Ronggolawe Division in the army, a position which he held throughout the war.

Sudharmono then served in Medan, North Sumatra, as an Army Attorney from 1957 to 1961.

In 1970, Sudharmono was moved from the position of Cabinet Secretary to the State Secretary, a position which allowed him to assist Suharto in the day-to-day running of the Government.

At the 1983 Golkar National Conference, with Suharto's support, Sudharmono was elected as the Chairman of Golkar.

Sudharmono died on 25 January 2006, after being treated at Metropolitan Medical Center hospital.

Sudharmono's body was interred in the Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery, Jakarta.

Sudharmono was born on 12 March 1927, in Cerme village, Gresik, East Java, Dutch East Indies.

Sudharmono's father was Soepijo Wirodiredjo, the son of a carik of the Village of Kabalan, in Kanor District, Bojonegoro, who began his career as an intern at the Balen District office.

Sudharmono's mother was Raden Nganten Sukarsi, the daughter of a priyayi from Bojonegoro.

Sudharmono was the third child of four children, having 2 older siblings.

Sudharmono began his elementary school education at the Hollandsch-Inlandsche School.

Sudharmono then continued his education in Semarang, Central Java, where he majored in exact sciences.

Sudharmono's education was cut short however with the arrival of the Japanese in 1942.

Sudharmono then served in Medan, North Sumatra, as an Army Attorney from 1957 to 1961.

In 1962, Sudharmono received his degree in law after completing a course at Military Law University.

In 1963, Sudharmono joined KOTI and was given the role of Joint Centre Operations Member for the Supreme Operations.

On 11 March 1966, when Suharto received the Emergency Powers from Sukarno, Sudharmono was the one who reproduced copies of the letter to be distributed to other military officers.

The next day, on 12 March 1966, Sudharmono was the one to write the decree banning the Indonesian Communist Party.

In 1970, Sudharmono was moved from the position of Cabinet Secretary to the position of State Secretary, a position which allowed him to assist Suharto in the day-to-day running of the Government.

Whilst State Secretary, Sudharmono covered for other ministers when they were unable to perform their duties; with short stints as Interim Information Minister and Interim Home Affairs Minister as well as helping to produce Suharto's accountability speech before the People Consultative Assembly.

Sudharmono did this by pushing for further transparency within the party organization, creating job descriptions for party officials, dividing the tasks of party officials, and creating the post of field coordinator.

Sudharmono conducted many inspection tours of Golkar branches at the local level to see the implementation and consolidation of Golkar policies.

Sudharmono consolidated Golkar's position ahead of the 1987 Indonesian legislative election, focusing its efforts on securing a majority of the popular vote in the devoutly Islamic province of Aceh, which was the only province apart from Jakarta where Golkar had failed to do so in 1982.

However, the possibility of Sudharmono becoming vice president displeased many in the Armed Forces.

Rumors that Sudharmono was a communist were spread by ABRI, accusing him of being a member of Pesindo, a youth socialist organization.

Sudharmono cited a decision that the MPR made in 1973 that one of the criteria for a vice president was that he should be able to work with the President.

Sudharmono issued a policy to form Tromol Pos 5000 as a means of monitoring the community and he began to consolidate politics by visiting the provinces, departments, State Offices, and other institutions.

In 1997, Sudharmono released his autobiography, Pengalaman Dalam Masa Pengabdian.

Sudharmono died on 25 January 2006, at around 19.40 Western Indonesia Time, after undergoing treatment for two weeks at the Intensive Care Unit of the Metropolitan Medical Center Hospital, in Jakarta, since 10 January 2006.

Sudharmono died due to a lung infection and complications from respiratory failure.

Sudharmono was buried before the Zuhur prayer at around 10:00, the next day, at the Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery, Jakarta.

Sudharmono married Emma Norma in 1951, and together, they have three children.

Sudharmono's body is interred at the Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery, Jakarta.