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).
The House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the national legislature of Indonesia. It is considered the lower house, while the Regional Representative Council (DPD) serves as the upper house; while the Indonesian constitution does not explicitly mention the divide, the DPR enjoys more power, privilege, and prestige compared to the DPD.
Mohammad Hatta was an Indonesian statesman, nationalist, and independence activist who served as the country's first vice president as well as the third prime minister. Known as "The Proclamator", he and a number of Indonesians, including the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, fought for the independence of Indonesia from the Netherlands. Hatta was an important figure during the Indonesian national awakening and during the national revolution, as a youth he was politically active both in the Netherlands and the Indies, which led him to be imprisoned in the Boven Digoel concentration camp for his activism, he also played a crucial part in the proclamation of Indonesian independence, being second the person to sign the declaration besides Sukarno, thus naming him as one of the founders of Indonesia.
The Socialist Party of Indonesia was a political party in Indonesia from 1948 until 1960, when it was banned by President Sukarno.
Abdul Haris Nasution was a high-ranking Indonesian general and politician. He served in the military during the Indonesian National Revolution and he remained in the military during the subsequent turmoil of the Parliamentary democracy and Guided Democracy. Following the fall of President Sukarno from power, he became the Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly under President Suharto. Born into a Batak Muslim family, in the village of Hutapungkut, Dutch East Indies, he studied teaching and enrolled at a military academy in Bandung.
Adam Malik Batubara was an Indonesian politician, diplomat, and journalist, who served as the third vice president of Indonesia from 1978 until 1983, under President Suharto. Previously, he served in a number of diplomatic and governmental positions, including Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly from 1977 to 1978, Speaker of the People's Representative Council from 1977 to 1978, Foreign Minister of Indonesia from 1966 until 1977, and president of the United Nations General Assembly from 1971 until 1972.
The term Government of the Republic of Indonesia can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively to the three traditional branches of government – the executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch. The term is also used colloquially to mean the executive and legislature together, as these are the branches of government responsible for day-to-day governance of the nation and lawmaking. At its narrowest, the term is used to refer to the executive branch in the form of the President of Indonesia, as assisted by the Vice President and the Cabinet, as this is the branch of government responsible for day-to-day governance.
The Indonesian National Party was the name used by several nationalist political parties in Indonesia from 1927 until 1973. The first PNI was established by future President Sukarno. After independence, the new PNI supplied a number of prime ministers, and participated in the majority of cabinets in the 1950s and 1960s. The party was fused into the Indonesian Democratic Party in 1973. In the years following the reforms of the late 1990s, a number of parties claiming to be the continuation of previous PNIs stood in elections, but gained only a handful of seats.
The Proclamation of Indonesian Independence was read at 10:00 Tokyo Standard Time on Friday, 17 August 1945 in Jakarta. The declaration marked the start of the diplomatic and armed resistance of the Indonesian National Revolution, fighting against the forces of the Netherlands and pro-Dutch civilians, until the latter officially acknowledged Indonesia's independence in 1949. The document was signed by Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, who were appointed president and vice-president respectively the following day.
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.
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Indonesia was a political office in Indonesia which existed from 1945 until 1966. During this period, the prime minister was in charge of the cabinet of Indonesia, one of the three branches of government along with the House of Representatives and the president. Following his 1959 decree, President Sukarno assumed the role and powers of prime minister until his resignation in 1966.
The 1945 State Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia is the supreme law and basis for all laws of Indonesia.
The Preparatory Committee for Indonesian Independence was a body established on 7 August 1945 to prepare for the transfer of authority from the occupying Japanese to Indonesia. It approved and promulgated the first Indonesian constitution, and appointed Sukarno president.
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 new president of Indonesia is Prabowo Subianto, who assumed office on 20 October 2024.
The vice president of the Republic of Indonesia is second-highest officer in the executive branch of the Indonesian government, after the president, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Since 2004, the president and vice president are directly elected to a five-year term.
The Central Indonesian National Committee, also known as the Central National Committee, was a body appointed to assist the president of the newly independent Indonesia. Originally purely advisory, it later gained assumed legislative functions. The Working Committee of the KNIP became part of the People's Representative Council when Indonesia became a unitary state in 1950.
The Jakarta Charter was a document drawn up by members of the Indonesian Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPK) on 22 June 1945 in Jakarta that later formed the basis of the preamble to the Constitution of Indonesia. The document contained the five principles of the Pancasila ideology, but it also included an obligation for Muslims to abide by Shariah law. This obligation, which was also known as the "Seven Words", was eventually deleted from the enacted constitution after the Indonesian declaration of independence on 18 August 1945. Following the deletion of the "Seven Words" efforts by Islamic parties continued to seek its inclusion, most notably in 1959, when the 1945 constitution was suspended; in 1968, during the Transition to the New Order; and in 2002, following the end of the New Order and the beginning of the Reformasi era.
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.
Pancasila is the official, foundational philosophical theory of Indonesia. The name is made from two words originally derived from Sanskrit: "pañca" ("five") and "śīla".
