Sarwo Edhie Wibowo | |
---|---|
4th Commander Trikora | |
In office 2 July 1968 – 20 February 1970 |
|
President | Suharto |
Preceded by | R. Bintoro |
Succeeded by | Acub Zaenal |
5th General of the Army Special Forces commander | |
In office 1964–1967 |
|
Preceded by | Mung Parahadimulyo |
Succeeded by | Widjoyo Suyono |
Personal details | |
Born |
Purworejo, Central Java, Dutch East Indies |
July 25, 1925
Died | November 9, 1989 Jakarta, Indonesia |
(aged 64)
Nationality | Indonesia |
Spouse(s) | Sunarti Sri Hadiyah |
Children | Wijiasih Cahyasasi Wrahasti Cendrawasih Kristiani Herrawati Mastuti Rahayu Pramono Edhie Wibowo Hartanto Edhie Wibowo |
Sarwo Edhie Wibowo (July 25, 1925 – November 9, 1989) was an Indonesian military leader and the father of Kristiani Herrawati, first lady of Indonesia and the wife of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and also the father of Chief of Staff Pramono Edhie Wibowo. As an army colonel he played a role in directing troops during the Indonesian killings of 1965–66, in which more than a million Indonesian civilians died. Later, he served as Chairman of the BP-7 center, as Indonesia's ambassador for South Korea and as governor of the Indonesian Military academy.
Sarwo Edhie was born in Purworejo, Central Java to a family of civil servants working for the Dutch Colonial Government. As a child, he learned silat as a form of self-defense. As he grew up, Sarwo Edhie formed an admiration for the Japanese Army and their victories against the Allied Forces stationed in the Pacific and Asia.
In 1942, when the Japanese took control of Indonesia, Sarwo Edhie went to Surabaya to enlist with the Defenders of the Motherland Army (PETA), which was a Japanese-run auxiliary force consisting of Indonesian soldiers.
After the Indonesian Declaration of Independence on August 17, 1945, Sarwo Edhie joined the BKR, a militia organization who would become the precursor of TNI (the present Indonesian Army) and formed a battalion. However, the venture failed and the battalion disbanded. It was his hometown compatriot, Ahmad Yani who encouraged him to continue being a soldier and invited him to join a battalion at Magelang in Central Java.