B.J Habibie

B.J HABIBIE

Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie known as BJ. Habibie was born on 25 June 1936. He was the Third President of the Republic of Indonesia (1998 – 1999). Habibie was born in Parepare, South Sulawesi Province to Alwi Abdul Jalil Habibie and R.A Tuti Marini Puspowardojo. His father was an agriculturist from Gorontalo of Bugis descent and his mother was a Javanese noblewoman from Yogyakarta. His parents met while studying in Bogor. When he was 14 years old, Habibie’s father died.

Following his father’s death, Habibie continued his studies in Jakarta and then in 1955 moved to Germany. In 1960, Habibie received a degree in engineering in Germany, giving him the title Diplom-Ingenieur. He remained in Germany as a research assistant under Hans Ebner at the Lehrstuhlund  Institut fur Leichtbau, RWTH Aachen to conduct research for his doctoral degree.

In 1962, Habibie returned to Indonesia for three months on sick leave. During this time, he was reacquainted with Hasri Ainun, the daughter of R. Mohamad Besari. The two married on 12 May 1962, returning to Germany shortly afterwards. Habibie and his wife settled in Aachen for a short period before moving to Oberforstbach. In May 1963 they had their first son, Ilham Akbar Habibie, and later another son, Thareq Kemal Habibie.

When Habibie’s minimum wage salary forced him into part-time work, he found employment with the Automotive Marque Talbot, where he became an advisor. Habibie worked on two project which received funding from Deutsche Bundesbahn. Due to his work with Makosh, the head of train constructions offered his position to Habibie upon his retirement three years later, but Habibie refused.

Habibie did accept a position with Messerschmitt – Bolkow – Blohm in Hamburg. There, he developed theories on thermodynamics, construction, and aerodynamics known as the Habibie Factor, Habibie Theorem, and Habibie Method, respectively. He worked for Messerschmit on the developed of the Airbus A-300B aircraft. In 1974, he was promoted to vice president of the company.

In 1974, Suharto requested Habibie to return to Indonesia as part of Suharto’s drive to develop the country. Habibie initially served as special assistant to Ibnu Sutowo, the CEO of the state oil company Pertamina. Two years later, in 1976, Habibie was made Chief Executive Officer of the new state-owned enterprise Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN). In 1978, he was appointed as Minister of Research and Technology.  Habibie was elected vice president in March 1998. On 21 May 1998, Suharto publicly announced his resignation and Habibie was immediately sworn in as president. Habibie’s government stabilized the economy in the face of the Asian financial crisis and the chaos of the last few months of Suharto’s presidency.

Since relinquishing the presidency, Habibie has spent more time in Germany than in Indonesia. However, he has also been active as a presidential adviser during Susilo Bambang Yudoyono’s presidency. In September 2006, he released a book called Detik – Detik Yang Menentukan : Jalan Panjang Indonesia Menuju Demookrasi (Decisive Moments : Indonesia’s Long Road Towards Democracy). The book recalled the events of May 1998.