President Joko Widodo is the 7th President of Indonesia serving in this position since October 2014.
President Joko Widodo, a forestry faculty graduate from the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, officially entered politics when he was elected as Governor of Jakarta, after proving to be very popular among both the urban and rural sections of the society.
In 1988, he founded his own business, CV Rakabu. which was later re-established and became a very successful furniture exporter by 2002. He also served as the chairman of a local branch of the country’s influential furniture manufacturers’ association.
In 2005, he decided to enter politics and ran for the office of mayor of Surakarta representing the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. Initially people viewed him with skepticism as he was primarily a businessman with no political connections.
He won the elections and soon proved his detractors wrong by initiating many progressive reforms in the city. As the mayor he earned much respect for his progressive reforms and his honesty which distinguished him from other politicians. He developed a rapport with the people as he had risen to this post from an underprivileged background, and thus could connect with people from all sections of the society.
In 2010, he was re-elected for a second term of office with over 90 percent of the vote.
In 2012, he decided to run for the Governor of Jakarta. President Joko Widodo was contesting the election against the incumbent, Fauzi Bowo, and ousted him in the second round of that election. As the Governor of Jakarta, he implemented many policies to encourage small industries and focused on improving Jakartans’ access to health care and education.
He implemented a universal health care programme in Jakarta, based on a ‘Healthy Jakarta Card’ (Kartu Jakarta Sehat or KJS) which became very popular. He also launched the “Smart Jakarta Card” in order to help poor students by giving them an allowance that can be withdrawn from ATMs in order to buy school supplies.
The leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Megawati Sukarnoputri chose Joko Widodo to be the presidential candidate of her party in 2014. His mayorship in Surakarta and his governorship in Jakarta had made him highly respected and popular all over Indonesia. He won the election with more than 53 percent of the popular vote, defeating his opponent Prabowo Subianto.
After assuming office in 2014, President Joko Widodo focused on curbing corruption within the Indonesian administration and has been taking steps to attract more foreign direct investment into the country. He has also implemented land reforms, improved public services, and initiated healthcare and educational programmes.
He was awarded the Bintang Jalasena Utama, 1st Class (“Navy Meritorious Service Star”) in 2011 by the Government of Indonesia, and the 1st Class “Star of the Republic of Indonesia” (BRI), Bintang Republik Indonesia Adipurna in 2014, and was once ranked as the third best mayor in the world by the international City Mayors Foundation.