Abdurrahman Wahid, also known as Gus Dur, was impeached and dismissed as the fourth president of Indonesia on 23 July 2001, after he issued a decree to dissolve the Indonesian legislature and suspend the Golkar Party.
In response to Wahid's actions, Megawati Sukarnoputri and the People's Consultative Assembly agreed to remove Wahid from office and Megawati took office as the new president.
The 2001 Special Session was held with the agenda of dismissing Abdurrahman Wahid after various conflicts with the parliament. [1] [2] This action was preceded by the issuance of the first memorandum on 1 February 2001. Then followed by a second note on April 30, 2001, accompanied by a request from the DPR to the MPR for a special session to be held. [3]
Abdurrahman Wahid responded to this effort by issuing a decree declaring the dissolution of the MPR/DPR, setting up elections within a year, and the suspension of the Golkar Party. But in the end he didn't get any support and the MPR approved the dismissal of Abdurrahman Wahid as president. He was replaced by Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri through a Special Session on 23 July 2001. [a] [4]
On 23 July 2001, 15:00 Western Indonesia Time (UTC+7), the MPR held a plenary meeting to vote the impeachment of Wahid, there were factions from F-KB and F-PDKB that attended the meeting. The result of the vote was 591 votes in favor of dismissing President Abdurrahman Wahid as well as appointing Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri as the replacement president. [5]
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610 members of the People's Consultative Assembly 306 electoral votes needed to win | ||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 95.25% ( 2.61pp) | |||||||||||||||
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 Votes of the People's Consultative Assembly Hamzah Haz: 340 votes Akbar Tandjung: 237 votes Invalid votes: 4 Abstentions: 29 | ||||||||||||||||
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As a response to Abdurrahman Wahid's Decree, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) held a special session to impeach Wahid on 23 July 2001, which turns out to be successful. The Assembly subsequently swore in Vice President Megawati as the new president. [6] Megawati was the first woman to become president of Indonesia.
The MPR Special Session also scheduled the election of a vice president, which was vacant due to Megawati's ascension to the presidency. There were five candidates: Agum Gumelar, proposed by the F-PDU; Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, proposed by the F-KKI and 80 MPR members; Akbar Tandjung, proposed by the F-PG; Hamzah Haz, proposed by the F-PPP and the Reform Faction; and Siswono Yudo Husodo, proposed by 79 MPR members. The election took place at the 5th plenary session of the MPR on Wednesday, 26 July 2001. [7]
Because there were no candidates who met the requirements to be elected, that is, out of half the number of legislative members present, a third round of elections was held. In this third round, Hamzah Haz was elected vice president after winning 340 votes out of 610 total votes. Meanwhile, Akbar Tandjung received 237 votes, leaving only 4 invalid votes and 29 abstentions. [8] [9]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamzah Haz | United Development Party | 340 | 58.93 | |
| Akbar Tandjung | Golkar | 237 | 41.07 | |
| Total | 577 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 577 | 99.31 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 4 | 0.69 | ||
| Total votes | 581 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 610 | 95.25 | ||
On 22 August 2021, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Mahfud MD made a statement on Abdurrahman Wahid's impeachment. On the Nahdlatul Ulama's YouTube channel, he stated that Wahid's impeachment was an unconstitutional and unlawful action. [10] Mahfud MD stated that the impeachment of Gus Dur in 2001 was not in accordance to the Resolutions of the People's Consultative Assembly (Ketetapan Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat) No. III of 1978 Regarding the Position and Work System of the Highest State Institution with/or State High Institutions. [11] [12] Mahfud also expressed that the impeachment by the special session of the People's Consultative Assembly had different cases between memorandums I, II, and III. [13]
Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri is an Indonesian politician who served as the fifth president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004 and the eighth vice president under President Abdurrahman Wahid from 1999 to 2001.
Abdurrahman Wahid, more colloquially known as Gus Dur, was an Indonesian politician and Islamic religious leader who served as the fourth president of Indonesia, from his election in 1999 until he was removed from office in 2001. A long time leader within the Nahdlatul Ulama organization, he was the founder of the National Awakening Party (PKB). He was the son of Minister of Religious Affairs Wahid Hasyim, and the grandson of Nahdatul Ulama founder Hasyim Asy'ari. Due to a visual impairment caused by glaucoma, he was blind in the left eye and partially blind in his right eye. He was the first president of Indonesia to have had physical disabilities. The name Abdurrahman Wahid means "Servant of Mercy the First."
The United Development Party is an Islam-based political party in Indonesia.
Presidential elections were held in Indonesia on 5 July and 20 September 2004. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a runoff was held, in which Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono defeated Megawati Sukarnoputri and was elected president. They were the first direct presidential elections in the history of Indonesia; prior to a 2002 amendment to the Constitution of Indonesia, both the president and vice president had been elected by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Hamzah Haz was the ninth vice president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004 under President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Prior to serving as vice president, Hamzah served as a cabinet minister and a member of the People's Representative Council (DPR). He also chaired the United Development Party (PPP) from 1998 to 2007, and was the party's presidential candidate in the 2004 Indonesian presidential election.
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The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia is the legislative branch in Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the members of a lower body, House of Representatives (DPR) and an upper body, Regional Representative Council (DPD). Before 2004, and the amendments to the 1945 Constitution, the MPR was the highest governing body in Indonesia.
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The president of the Republic of Indonesia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president is the leader of the executive branch of the Indonesian government and the supreme commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces and the Indonesian National Police. Since 2004, the president and vice president have been directly elected to a five-year term, once renewable, allowing for a maximum of 10 years in office. The current president of Indonesia is Prabowo Subianto, who assumed office on 20 October 2024.
The National Unity Cabinet was the Indonesian cabinet which served under President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Sukarnoputri from 29 October 1999 until 23 July 2001. The Cabinet was formed after Wahid and Megawati were elected President and Vice President by the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). The cabinet was originally designed to look after the interests of the various political parties and the Indonesian National Armed Forces, but this notion quickly disappeared as Wahid's presidency began to break down.
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The Memorandum of the President of the Republic of Indonesia of 23 July 2001 was issued by the fourth President of Indonesia, Abdurrahman Wahid, at the climax of his standoff with the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and other sections of society, including the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI).
The inauguration of Abdurrahman Wahid as the 4th president of Indonesia took place on Wednesday, 20 October 1999 at the Parliamentary Complex, Jakarta. The ceremony marked the commencement of Wahid's only term as president.
The inauguration of Megawati Sukarnoputri as the 5th president of Indonesia took place on Monday, 23 July 2001. The ceremony was held at the Parliamentary Complex shortly after the MPR vote her to become president, the ceremony also marked the end of Abdurrahman Wahid's term as president following his impeachment after the presidential decree on the same day.
The first inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the 6th president of Indonesia took place on Wednesday, 20 October 2004. Yudhoyono was the first democratically and directly elected president of Indonesia, as the previous presidents were elected by the People's Consultative Assembly.
The People's Consultative Assembly, the bicameral legislature of Indonesia, passed a series of resolutions of the People's Consultative Assembly or TAP MPR throughout the 1960s, to the very last issued in 2003.
