General (Ret.) Gatot Nurmantyo (born 13 March 1960) is a retired

Indonesian Army The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...

general who was

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

(

Panglima (archaic form: , Jawi script, Jawi: ) a military title used in Indonesia and Malaysia, and historically in the Philippines. It means 'a commander of a body of troops' deriving from , a long-obsolete word for 'hand'. In the past it is used to call ...

) of the

Indonesian National Armed Forces The Indonesian National Armed Forces (; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Indonesian Army, Army (''TNI-AD''), Indonesian Navy, Navy (''TNI-AL''), and Indonesian Air Force, Air Force ('' ...

(TNI) from 8 July 2015 until 8 December 2017. Previously, he was the 30th Army Chief of Staff from 25 July 2014 after being appointed by President Yudhoyono to replace General Budiman. From 2013 to 2014, he was Commander of Army Strategic Command (Kostrad), replacing Lieutenant General Muhammad Munir. In June 2015, he was nominated by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to replace TNI commander General

Moeldoko Moeldoko (pronounced uldoko born 8 July 1957) is an Indonesian government official, businessman, and retired general serving as the current Chief of Staff of Presidency for President Joko Widodo, previously serving as Commander of the Indone ...

, who was nearing retirement age. His appointment was then confirmed by the DPR. In December 2017, as Nurmantyo neared retirement age (in March 2018), the president announced his intention to replace him with Air Force Chief-of-Staff Air Chief Marshal

Hadi Tjahjanto Air Chief Marshal (Ret.) Hadi Tjahjanto (born 8 November 1963) is the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs under President Joko Widodo's Onward Indonesi ...

as TNI commander. Nurmantyo joined government officials and social activists in a march to support

religious tolerance Religious tolerance or religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, ...

during the

November 2016 Jakarta protests November 2016 Jakarta protests (also called Protests defending the Quran or 4 November protests) refer to an Islamist mass protest which took place on 4 November 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia. It was attended by an estimated 50,000–200,000 proteste ...

. Alongside Social Affairs Minister

Khofifah Indar Parawansa Khofifah Indar Parawansa (; born 19 May 1965) is an Indonesian politician who served as the 14th governor of East Java, serving in 2019–2024 and since February 2025. She had previously been the 27th Minister of Social Affairs from 2014 to 2018. ...

Indonesian National Police The Indonesian National Police (, abbreviated as POLRI) is the national law enforcement and police force of the Republic of Indonesia. Founded on 1 July 1946, it was formerly a part of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, country's military si ...

chief

Tito Karnavian Police-General (Ret.) Muhammad Tito Karnavian (born 26 October 1964) is an Indonesian politician and retired police officer who is currently serving as Minister of Home Affairs from 2019 to 2029. Previously, he served as chief of the Indonesian ...

and Islamic activist

Yenny Wahid Zannuba Ariffah Chafsoh, or more popularly known as Yenny Wahid (born 29 October 1974) is an Indonesian Islamic activist, journalist, and politician. She is currently the director of The Wahid Institute, an Islamic research center founded by her ...

, he led public support of interfaith unity as a counterbalance to protests against Jakarta's Christian ethnic-Chinese governor

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (, Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Chûng Van-ho̍k''; born 29 June 1966) is an Indonesian businessman, politician, and former governor of Jakarta. He is colloquially known by his Hakka Chinese name, Ahok (). He was the first ethnic C ...

which included elements of intolerance and

Sinophobia Anti-Chinese sentiment (also referred to as Sinophobia) is the fear or dislike of Chinese people or Chinese culture. It is frequently directed at Overseas Chinese, Chinese minorities which live outside Greater China and it involves immigratio ...

Presidential aspiration

Nurmantyo officially retired from military service on 31 March 2018 amid rising speculation he would run for the presidency in 2019. On 6 April 2018, a group called Gatot Nurmantyo for the People (GNR) nominated Gatot as a candidate for Indonesia's 2019 presidential election. In an interview published by ''

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

'' in April 2018, he responded positively to calls for him to run for the presidency, saying: "If the Republic calls and the people wish, I will be ready no matter what." He said democracy is in the hands of the people, "but it is Allah who has the final say. So, anyone who becomes the president is by the will of Allah and we must support him or her." Asked if he was interested in becoming President Jokowi's running mate, he responded: "I'm not a political whore." He admitted Jokowi's rival, opposition leader

Prabowo Subianto Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star Indonesian Army, army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously t ...

, had invited him to join his

Gerindra Party The Great Indonesia Movement Party (), better known as the Gerindra Party, is a nationalist, right-wing populist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the third-largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 86 s ...

Ties to Tomy Winata

Gatot has acknowledged he is close to tycoon and banker Tomy Winata. “People say that I have a close relationship with Tomy Winata. That's true. I will never be ashamed of that because I personally know his commitment,” he said. Their relationship started in 1997, when Winata's Artha Graha Bank acquired Arta Prima Bank, which was then renamed Pratama Bank. At the time, Gatot was Secretary Commissioner of Artha Graha Bank. The Indonesian media has speculated Winata might be providing financial backing for Gatot to run for the presidency in 2019.

Honours

Gatot is the recipient of the following honours:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nurmantyo, Gatot 1960 births Living people Indonesian generals Indonesian National Military Academy alumni Javanese people Commanders of the Indonesian National Armed Forces Chiefs of staff of the Indonesian Army Recipients of the Pingat Jasa Gemilang (Tentera) Recipients of the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera)