Prabowo Subianto sworn in as Indonesia’s eighth president

Prabowo Subianto was inaugurated Sunday arsenic the eighth president of the world’s astir populous Muslim-majority nation, completing his travel from an ex-general accused of rights abuses during the acheronian days of Indonesia’s subject dictatorship to the statesmanlike palace.

The erstwhile defence minister, who turned 73 connected Thursday, was cheered done the streets by thousands of waving supporters aft taking his oath connected the Quran, the Muslim beatified book, successful beforehand of lawmakers and overseas dignitaries. Banners and billboards to invited the caller president filled the streets of the capital, Jakarta, wherever tens of thousands gathered for festivities including speeches and philharmonic performances on the city’s large throughfare.

Mr Subianto was a longtime rival of the immensely fashionable president Joko Widodo, who ran against him for the presidency doubly and refused to judge his decision connected some occasions, successful 2014 and 2019.

But Mr Widodo appointed Mr Subianto arsenic defence main aft his reelection, paving the mode for an confederation contempt their rival governmental parties. During the campaign, Subianto ran arsenic the fashionable outgoing president’s heir, vowing to proceed signature policies similar the operation of a multibillion-dollar caller superior metropolis and limits connected exporting earthy materials intended to boost home industry.

Backed by Mr Widodo, Mr Subianto swept to a landslide triumph successful February’s nonstop statesmanlike predetermination connected promises of argumentation continuity.

Mr Subianto was sworn successful with his caller vice president, 37-year-old Surakarta ex-Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka. He chose Raka, who is Mr Widodo’s son, arsenic his moving mate, with Mr Widodo favoring Subianto implicit the campaigner of his ain erstwhile party. The erstwhile rivals became tacit allies, adjacent though Indonesian presidents don’t typically endorse candidates.

But however he’ll govern the biggest system successful Southeast Asia — wherever astir 90% of Indonesia’s 282 cardinal radical are Muslims — remains uncertain aft a run successful which helium made fewer factual promises too continuity with the fashionable erstwhile president.

Mr Subianto, who comes from 1 of the country’s wealthiest families, is simply a crisp opposition to Mr Mr Widodo, the archetypal Indonesian president to look from extracurricular the governmental and subject elite who came from a humble inheritance and arsenic president often mingled with working-class crowds.

Mr Subianto was a peculiar forces commandant until helium was expelled by the army successful 1998 implicit accusations that helium played a relation successful the kidnappings and torture of activists and different abuses. He ne'er faced proceedings and went into self-imposed exile successful Jordan successful 1998, though respective of his underlings were tried and convicted.

Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein was expected to be Sunday’s ceremony, but canceled astatine the past infinitesimal due to the fact that of escalating Middle East tensions, alternatively deciding to nonstop Foreign Affairs Minister Nancy Namrouqa arsenic his peculiar envoy. Mr Subianto and Abdullah met successful idiosyncratic successful June for talks successful Amman connected humanitarian assistance to radical affected by the warfare successful Gaza.

Mr Subianto, who has ne'er held elective office, volition pb a massive, divers archipelago federation whose system has boomed amid beardown planetary request for its earthy resources. But he’ll person to contend with planetary economical distress and determination tensions successful Asia, wherever territorial conflicts and the United States-China rivalry loom large.

Leaders and elder officials from much than 30 countries flew successful to be the ceremony, including Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and leaders of Southeast Asia countries. U.S. President Joe Biden sent Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Adm. Samuel Paparo, the U.S. Commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, was besides among the American delegation.

Army troops and police, on with armored vehicles, occurrence trucks and ambulances, were deployed crossed the capital, and large roads were closed to unafraid the swearing-in.

The predetermination result capped a agelong comeback for Mr Subianto, who was banned for years from traveling to the United States and Australia.

He has vowed to proceed Mr Widodo’s modernization efforts, which person boosted Indonesia’s economical maturation by gathering infrastructure and leveraging the country’s abundant resources. A signature argumentation required nickel, a large Indonesian export and a cardinal constituent of electrical car batteries, to beryllium processed successful section factories alternatively than exported raw.

He has besides promised to propulsion done Mr Widodo’s astir ambitious and arguable project: the operation of a caller superior connected Borneo, astir 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) distant from congested Jakarta.

Before February’s statesmanlike election, helium besides promised to supply escaped schoolhouse lunches and beverage to 78.5 cardinal students astatine much than 400,000 schools crossed the country, aiming to trim malnutrition and stunted maturation among children.

Indonesia is simply a bastion of ideology successful Southeast Asia, a divers and economically bustling portion of authoritarian governments, constabulary states and nascent democracies. After decades of dictatorship nether President Suharto, the state was convulsed by political, taste and spiritual unrest successful the precocious 1990s and aboriginal 2000s. Since then, it has consolidated its antiauthoritarian modulation arsenic the world’s third-largest democracy, and is location to a rapidly expanding mediate class.