Joko Widodo

Joko Widodo (Indonesian: [ˈdʒoko wiˈdodo]; born Mulyono on 21 June 1961), popularly known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), he was the country's first president to not emerge from the country's political or military elite. He previously served as governor of Jakarta from 2012 to 2014 and mayor of Surakarta from 2005 to 2012.

Jokowi was born and raised in a riverside slum in Surakarta. He graduated from Gadjah Mada University in 1985, and married his wife, Iriana, a year later. He worked as a carpenter and a furniture exporter before being elected mayor of Surakarta in 2005. He achieved national prominence as mayor and was elected governor of Jakarta in 2012, with Basuki Tjahaja Purnama as vice governor. As governor, he reinvigorated local politics, introduced publicised blusukan visits (unannounced spot checks) and improved the city's bureaucracy, reducing corruption in the process. He also introduced a universal healthcare program, dredged the city's main river to reduce flooding, and inaugurated the construction of the city's subway system.

In 2014, Jokowi was nominated as the PDI-P's candidate in that year's presidential election, choosing Jusuf Kalla as his running mate. Jokowi was elected over his opponent, Prabowo Subianto, who disputed the outcome of the election, and was inaugurated on 20 October 2014. Since taking office, Jokowi has focused on economic growth and infrastructure development as well as an ambitious health and education agenda. On foreign policy, his administration has emphasised "protecting Indonesia's sovereignty", with the sinking of illegal foreign fishing vessels and the prioritising and scheduling of capital punishment for drug smugglers. The latter was despite intense representations and diplomatic protests from foreign powers, including Australia and France. He was re-elected in 2019 for a second five-year term, again defeating Prabowo Subianto.

Near the end of his second presidential term, however, his relationship with PDI-P deteriorated because he supported Prabowo for his 2024 presidential campaign, instead of his own party's presidential candidate, Ganjar Pranowo; Jokowi's elder son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, even ran as Prabowo's vice-presidential candidate. On 22 April 2024, after the Constitutional Court rejection over all claims and disputes related to the 2024 presidential election, the PDI-P Honorary Council declared that both Jokowi and Gibran would no longer be PDI-P members, thus, confirming their separation from PDI-P. Despite that, in their termination, Jokowi and Gibran are still allowed to retain their membership card, because the PDI-P still honored them as the sitting/outgoing president and incoming vice president respectively. However, their cards now do not grant them any rights within the party.