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Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known
mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. A mononym may be the person's only name, given to them at birth. This was routine in most ancient societies, and remains ...
as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh
president of Indonesia 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 commander-in-chief of the ...
from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (, PDI-P) is a centre to centre-left secular-nationalist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the ruling and largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 110 seat ...
(PDI-P), he was the country's first president not to emerge from the country's political or military elite. He previously served as
governor of Jakarta } The Jakarta Special Region is administratively equal to a Provinces of Indonesia, province with special status as the largest city of Indonesia. Instead of a mayor, the executive head of Jakarta is a governor. The Governor of Jakarta is an elect ...
from 2012 to 2014 and mayor of
Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
from 2005 to 2012. Jokowi was born and raised in a riverside
slum A slum is a highly populated Urban area, urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are p ...
in Surakarta. He graduated from
Gadjah Mada University Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a public research university located in Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Gadjah Mada University is one of the oldest and largest institut ...
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 Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
in 2012, with
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 ...
as vice governor. As governor, he reinvigorated local politics, introduced publicised 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 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, Jokowi was nominated as the PDI-P's candidate in that year's presidential election, choosing
Jusuf Kalla Muhammad Jusuf Kalla (; born 15 May 1942), commonly referred to by his initials JK, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the 10th and 12th vice president of Indonesia, the only vice president in Indonesian history to serve tw ...
as his
running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...
. Jokowi was elected over his opponent,
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 ...
, who disputed the outcome of the election, and was
inaugurated In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...
on 20 October 2014. Since taking office, Jokowi has focused on economic growth and infrastructure development as well as an ambitious
health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...
and
education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
agenda. During his presidency, there was massive infrastructure development and improvement in various parts of Indonesia, so he was nicknamed the Father of Indonesian Infrastructure. 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 Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
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 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
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 Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously the 26th minister ...
for his 2024 presidential campaign, instead of his own party's presidential candidate,
Ganjar Pranowo Ganjar Pranowo (born 28 October 1968) is an Indonesian politician who served as the governor of Central Java between 2013 and 2023. He is a member of the nationalist Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). He was a candidate for preside ...
; Jokowi's elder son,
Gibran Rakabuming Raka Gibran Rakabuming Raka (born 1 October 1987) is an Indonesian politician and businessman who has been 14th Vice President of Indonesia, vice president of Indonesia since 2024. Previously the 18th mayor of Surakarta from 2021 to 2024, he is the e ...
, 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. The full expulsion was declared completed on 4 December 2024.


Early life and education

Joko Widodo was born as Mulyono Notomihardjo at Brayat Minulya General Hospital in Surakarta, on 21 June 1961. Jokowi is of Javanese heritage. He is the only son of Widjiatno Notomihardjo and Sudjiatmi and the eldest of four siblings. His father came from Karanganyar, while his grandparents came from a village in
Boyolali Boyolali () is a regency () in the eastern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,096.61 km2, and had a population of 930,531 at the 2010 censusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 1,062,713 at the 2020 census; ...
. His three younger sisters are Iit Sriyantini, Idayati, and Titik Relawati. Jokowi was often sick as a toddler, and his name was thus changed—a common practice in
Javanese culture Javanese culture () is the culture of the Javanese people. Javanese culture is centered in the provinces of Central Java, Yogyakarta and East Java in Indonesia. Due to various migrations, it can also be found in other parts of the world, such as ...
—to Joko Widodo, with ''widodo'' meaning "healthy" in Javanese. At the age of 12, he started working in his father's furniture workshop. Jokowi's family lived in three different rented homes (one of which the government declared condemned property) during his youth, which greatly affected him. Later, he organized low income housing in
Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
during his years as mayor of that city. Jokowi's education began at State Elementary School 111 Tirtoyoso, an ordinary public school. He continued his studies at State Junior High School 1 Surakarta. Later, he wanted to attend State Senior High School 1 Surakarta, but did not score high enough in the entrance exam. Therefore, he enrolled in the newer State Senior High School 6 in that city.


Business career

After graduating from university, Jokowi began working at PT (KKA), a state-owned firm in
Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...
,
Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...
. He worked in the present-day
Bener Meriah Regency Bener Meriah Regency () is a regency in Aceh Special Region, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory ...
between 1986 and 1988 as a supervisor of forestry and raw materials at a
Sumatran pine ''Pinus merkusii'', the Merkus pine or Sumatran pine, is a pine native to the Malesia region of southeast Asia, and the only one that occurs naturally south of the equator. Description ''Pinus merkusii'' is a medium-sized to large tree, reachin ...
plantation. However, Jokowi soon lost interest in the firm and returned home. He worked in his grandfather's furniture factory for a year before establishing his own company, Rakabu, whose namesake is his first child. He obtained his initial capital from a Rp 15 million investment from his father and a bank loan. The company, which mainly focused on
teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...
furniture, nearly went bankrupt at one point but survived following an IDR 500 million loan from Perusahaan Gas Negara. By 1991, the company began exporting its products, and they were successful in international markets. The firm first established a presence in the European market in France, and it was a French customer named Bernard who gave Joko Widodo the nickname "Jokowi". By 2002, Jokowi had become the chairman of Surakarta's furniture manufacturers association. Ultimately he decided to become a politician and promote reform in his home town, Surakarta, after seeing the neat layouts of some European cities while promoting his furniture there. After becoming mayor, he also made a joint venture with politician and former
lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan (EYD: ''Luhut Binsar Panjaitan'', born 28 September 1947) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and retired four-star Army general who has been serving as Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investments (I ...
, when the two founded PT Rakabu Sejahtera (from Rakabu and Luhut's PT Toba Sejahtera). In 2018, Jokowi reported his net worth to be Rp 50.25 billion (US$3.5 million), mostly in the form of property holdings in Central Java and Jakarta.


Early political career


Mayor of Surakarta

After first joining PDI-P in 2004, Jokowi ran in the mayoral race in Surakarta in 2005 with
F. X. Hadi Rudyatmo Fransiskus Xaverius Hadi Rudyatmo (born 13 February 1960) is an Indonesian politician and former Mayor of Surakarta. His party is the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P). Before he was mayor, he had been elected into Surakarta's ci ...
as his running mate, with the support of PDI-P and the
National Awakening Party The National Awakening Party (; , PKB), is an Islam-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho. (2017). ''Moving towards a Normalised Path: Political Islam in Contemporary Indonesia''. JURNAL STUDI PEMERINTAHAN (JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT & POLITICS). Vol. 8 No. 1, Febru ...
. The pair won 36.62% of the vote against the incumbent Slamet Suryanto and two other candidates. During the campaign, many questioned his background as a property and furniture businessman. However, one academic paper claimed his leadership style was successful because it established an interactive relationship with the people, through which he was able to induce people's strong faith in him. He adopted the development framework of European cities (which he frequently travelled to as a businessman) as a guide for changes in Surakarta. His notable policies as mayor include building new traditional markets and renovating existing markets, constructing a 7-km city walk with a 3-meter wide pedestrian walkway along Surakarta's main street, revitalising the Balekambang and Sriwedari parks, employing stricter regulations on cutting down trees along the city's main streets, rebranding the city as a centre of Javanese culture and tourism under the tagline "The Spirit of Java," promoting the city as a centre for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE), launching healthcare and education insurance program for all residents, a local bus rapid transit system named ''
Batik Solo Trans Batik Solo Trans (abbreviated BST) is a bus rapid transit system serving the city of Surakarta, Central Java. Launched in 2010, it currently operates 12 corridors. Summary Batik Solo Trans was launched on 1 September 2010 by then-mayor of Surak ...
'' and a Solo Techno Park, which helped support the Esemka Indonesian car project. It was during his tenure as mayor that he conducted the , an impromptu visit to specific areas to listen to people's issues, which proved popular later in his political career. He also prohibited his family members from bidding for city projects, therefore suppressing the risk of corruption. His policies brought him into conflict with then provincial governor Bibit Waluyo, who on one occasion called Jokowi a "fool" for the latter's opposition to a provincial construction project in Surakarta. His supporters pointed to rapid positive changes in Surakarta under his leadership and the city's branding with the motto 'Solo: The Spirit of Java.' While in office, he successfully relocated antique stalls in the Banjarsari Gardens without incident, a helpful move in revitalising the functions of the open green space; he emphasised the importance of business firms engaging in community activities; he improved communications with the local community by appearing regularly on local television. As a follow-up of the city's new branding, he applied for Surakarta to become a member of the
Organization of World Heritage Cities The Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization of 250 cities in which sites of the UNESCO World Heritage list are located. It was founded in 1993 in Fez, Morocco, during the second In ...
, which was approved in 2006, and subsequently had the city chosen to host the organisation's conference in October 2008. In 2007, Surakarta had also hosted the
World Music Festival The Udaipur World Music Festival is a cultural event held at Udaipur city in the state of Rajasthan. In this event, artists from around the globe joins to give a variety of performances. The World Music Festival is scheduled to be an annual ev ...
(Festival Musik Dunia/FMD), held at the complex of
Fort Vastenburg Fort Vastenburg (Dutch "Fort Steadfast"), also Fort Surakarta, is an 18th-century Dutch fort located in Gladak, Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. A landmark of Surakarta, the fort faces polemics related with multiple owners claiming different pa ...
near the centre of the city. The following year, it was held in the
Mangkunegaran Palace The Pura Mangkunegaran (, ) is a palace complex in the city of Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. It is the official palace and residence of the Duke of Mangkunegaran, Mangkunegara and his family. The palace complex is one of the centers of Javan ...
Complex. Part of Jokowi style was his populist 'can-do' () elements designed to build bonds with the broad electorate. As mayor, he became personally involved in an incident just before Christmas 2011 when the Surakarta municipality had overdue bills of close to $1 million (IDR 8.9 billion) owed to the state-owned electricity company ''
Perusahaan Listrik Negara PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) (, abbreviated as PLN) is an Indonesian State-owned enterprise, government-owned corporation which has a monopoly on electric power distribution in Indonesia and generates the majority of the country's p ...
'' (PLN). Following its policy of pursuing a more disciplined approach to collecting overdue bills, it imposed a blackout on street lights in the city just before Christmas. The city government quickly authorised payment, but in settling the bill, protested that the PLN should consider the public interest before taking such action. To reinforce the point, Jokowi made a highly publicised personal visit to the local PLN office to deliver the IDR 8.9 billion in cash in the form of hundreds of bundles of notes and even small coins. In 2010, he was re-elected for a second term, again running with Hadi. They won 90.09% of the vote, losing in only a single polling station. He was later chosen as the 'Tempo Leader of Choice' by Tempo news magazine (2008) and received a 'Changemakers Award' from Republika newspaper (2010); his name also started being considered in national polls for the governorship of Jakarta, long before PDI-P's nomination, including those by
University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia (UI; ) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the Dutch East Indies when UI was established) ...
and Cyrus Network (2011). In 2012, Jokowi faced a smear campaign after declaring his intention to run for the governorship of Jakarta. A group calling itself ''Save Solo, Save Jakarta and Save Indonesia Team'' (TS3) reported him to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for allegedly having facilitated misuse of education funds by his subordinates in Surakarta in 2010. The KPK investigated the allegation, found it was based on false data and said there was no indication Jokowi had misappropriated funds.


Governor of Jakarta

Despite disappointment from some Surakarta residents that he would not complete his second term as mayor, Jokowi ran in the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election and defeated the incumbent
Fauzi Bowo Fauzi Bowo (born 10 April 1949) is an Indonesian politician and diplomat who was the Indonesian Ambassador to Germany from 2013 to 2018. He was the governor of Jakarta between 2007 and 2012 and previously served as deputy governor from 2002 to 20 ...
in a runoff round. His inner circle of advisers in Jakarta reportedly included people such as F. X. Hadi 'Rudy' Rudyatmo, Sumartono Hadinoto and Anggit Nugroho, who were colleagues while he was mayor of Surakarta, as well as
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 ...
("Ahok"), his deputy as governor of Jakarta. Jokowi continued the practice he had adopted as mayor of Surakarta by regularly visiting population centers, especially slums. During these visits, he wore simple, informal clothes and stopped at markets or walked along narrow Jakarta alleys to listen and witness firsthand issues addressed by residents, such as the price of food, housing difficulties, flooding, and transportation. Polling and media coverage suggested that his hands-on style proved very popular both in Jakarta and elsewhere across Indonesia. After taking office, taxes and Jakarta's provincial budget increased significantly from IDR 41 trillion in 2012 to IDR 72 trillion in 2014. Both Jokowi and Ahok publicised their monthly salary and the provincial budget. They also initiated programs aimed towards transparency, such as online taxes, e-budgeting, e-purchasing, and a cash management system. Moreover, all meetings and activities that Jokowi and Ahok attended were recorded and uploaded on YouTube. In healthcare, Jokowi introduced a universal health care program, the 'Healthy Jakarta Card' (, KJS). It involved an insurance program provided through state-owned insurance company PT Askes Indonesia (''Persero'') and a plan to regulate health charges for treatment for over 20,000 services and procedures. The program was criticised for confusion over details of the implementation and long queues, though Jokowi defended it and counselled patience. In education, Jokowi launched the 'Smart Jakarta Card' (, KJP) on 1 December 2012 to help needy students. It gives an allowance that can be withdrawn from ATMs for buying school needs such as books and uniforms. His administration's other notable policies include a system of bureaucratic recruitment called (), giving every civil servant the same opportunity to achieve a certain position by fulfilling the required qualifications, regulation of the chaotic agglomeration of street vendors in
Pasar Minggu Pasar Minggu is a district () in the administrative city of South Jakarta, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific ...
and Pasar Tanah Abang, the dredging and reservoir normalisation projects to reduce flooding, and the inauguration of long-delayed
Jakarta MRT The Jakarta Mass Rapid Transit ( ''Jakarta'') or Jakarta MRT (, stylized as ''mrt jakarta'') is a rapid transit system in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. The system is operated by PT Mass Rapid Transit Jakarta (Perseroda), a municipall ...
and
Jakarta LRT The Jakarta Light Rapid Transit or Jakarta LRT (, lit. "Jakarta Integrated Rail Line") is one of the light rapid transit systems in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. It is conceived and built by the Jakarta provincial government. The firs ...
. As governor, Jokowi also appointed a non-Muslim 'lurah' (subdistrict chief) for the Muslim-majority subdistrict of Lenteng Agung despite protests by some residents. Former deputy governor Prijanto claimed that Jokowi had carried out maladministration when abusing government certificate asset of BMW Park by formalising another expired certificate. In 2013, Jokowi was reported to the
National Commission on Human Rights The National Commission on Human Rights (, Komnas HAM) is the national human rights institution (NHRI) of Indonesia. As with other NHRIs, its principal functions are the protection and promotion of human rights. History The commission was establi ...
over the eviction of the squatters near
Pluit Pluit is an administrative village (''kelurahan'') located in Penjaringan, Jakarta. In majority, of its residents are mainly inhabited by ethnic Chinese Indonesians. Pluit is a bustling area with residential and commercial establishments supporte ...
. In previous "political contracts", he had vowed not to evict residents to distant locations. Jokowi met with Pluit residents and Komnas HAM to explain the evictions were necessary for restoring water catchment to reduce flooding and that families were being relocated to low-cost apartments.


Elections

The media popularity of Jokowi on Indonesian politics and the Indonesian economy has been termed the "Jokowi Effect." When Jokowi was declared as a presidential candidate in the 2014 presidential election it is believed that the popularity of the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (, PDI-P) is a centre to centre-left secular-nationalist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the ruling and largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 110 seat ...
was boosted to 30% in the 2014 legislative election. Meanwhile, in the capital market, the effect is said to have stimulated the Indonesian stock market and
Rupiah The rupiah (Currency symbol, symbol: Rp; ISO 4217, currency code: IDR) is the official currency of Indonesia, issued and controlled by Bank Indonesia. Its name is derived from the Sanskrit word for silver, (). Sometimes, Indonesians also inform ...
, because Jokowi was regarded as having a clean track record. The Jokowi Effect was also commonly cited as a reason for Prabowo Subianto's victory in the
2024 Indonesian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Indonesia on 14 February 2024 with defence minister and former general Prabowo Subianto contesting the elections against the former governor of Jakarta, Anies Baswedan and the former governor of Central Java, G ...
.


2014 general election

Megawati Sukarnoputri Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) 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 200 ...
nominated Jokowi to be the presidential candidate of her party. During the campaign, a social media volunteer team, ''JASMEV'', once made a provocative statement by threatening that Islam would not be given a space in Indonesia if Jokowi won the 2014 election. The group was paid IDR 500 million to campaign for the Joko Widodo-Jusuf Kalla ticket during the 2014 election. Following the release of Quick Count results from many different polls, Jokowi declared victory on 9 July. However, his opponent
Prabowo Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously the 26th minister ...
also declared victory, creating confusion among the population. On 22 July, hours before the announcement of the election results, Prabowo withdrew. Jokowi's victory was expected and realised hours later. The
General Elections Commission The General Elections Commission (, abbreviated as KPU) is the body that organises elections in Indonesia. Its responsibilities include deciding which parties can contest elections, organising the voting and announcing the results and seats won ...
(KPU) gave him a close victory with 53.15% of the vote (almost 71 million votes), to Prabowo's 46.85% (62 million votes), though Prabowo's camp disputed these totals. After his victory, Jokowi stated that growing up under the authoritarian and corrupt New Order regime, he would have never expected someone with a lower-class background to become president. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported him as saying, "Now, it's quite similar to America, yeah? There is the
American dream The "American Dream" is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life. The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the ...
, and here we have the Indonesian dream." Jokowi was the first Indonesian president outside the military or the political elite, and the political commentator Salim Said gave the popular view of the politician as "someone who is our neighbour, who decided to get into politics and run for president."


2019 general election

In 2018, Jokowi announced that he would run for re-election
next year "Next Year" is a song released as the last single from the third Foo Fighters' album '' There Is Nothing Left to Lose''. History A shorter version (running at just 3:21 compared to the original's 4:36) was released as a single in 2000 and wa ...
. His vice president
Jusuf Kalla Muhammad Jusuf Kalla (; born 15 May 1942), commonly referred to by his initials JK, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who served as the 10th and 12th vice president of Indonesia, the only vice president in Indonesian history to serve tw ...
was not eligible for another term because of the term limits set for president and vice president. Kalla had already served a five-year term as vice president during
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to as SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired Indonesian Army, army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014 and the second president of Ind ...
's first term (2004–2009). Speculation surrounding Jokowi's choice of running mate focused on several candidates, including
Mahfud MD Mohammad Mahfud Mahmodin (born 13 May 1957), commonly known as Mahfud MD, is an Indonesian politician, and legal academic who served as the 14th Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs of Indonesia from 2019 to 2024. ...
, a former defence minister and chief justice of the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
. In a surprise move, Jokowi announced that
Ma'ruf Amin Ma'ruf Amin (born 11 March 1943) is an Indonesian politician, Islamic cleric, and lecturer who served as the 13th Vice President of Indonesia, vice president of Indonesia from 2019 to 2024. Aged nearly 77 years old when inaugurated, he is the ol ...
would be his running mate. Mahfud had reportedly been preparing for the vice-presidential candidacy. Ma'ruf was selected instead following a push by several constituent parties of Jokowi's governing coalition and influential Islamic figures. Explaining his decision, Jokowi referred to Ma'ruf's extensive experience in government and religious affairs. The KPU officially announced that the Joko Widodo-Ma'ruf Amin ticket had won the election in the early hours of 21 May 2019. The official vote tally was 85 million votes for Jokowi (55.50%) and 68 million votes for Prabowo (44.50%). Supporters of Prabowo protested in Jakarta against the result, and it turned into a riot which left eight people dead and over 600 injured. Following the protests, Prabowo's campaign team launched a Constitutional Court lawsuit but was rejected in its entirety.


Presidency (2014–2024)


Cabinets

Despite vowing not to give government positions simply to political allies during the 2014 campaign, many members of political parties received ministerial positions in Jokowi's first cabinet. The first year of Jokowi's administration saw him controlling a
minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...
until
Golkar The Party of Functional Groups (), often known by its abbreviation Golkar, is a Centre politics, centre to Centre-right politics, centre-right big tent secular nationalist political parties in Indonesia, political party in Indonesia. Founded in ...
, the second-largest party in the
People's Representative Council The House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (, DPR-RI or simply DPR) 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 th ...
(DPR), switched from opposition to the government. Jokowi denied accusations of interfering with Golkar's internal affairs, although he admitted that Luhut might have influenced the change. His cabinet's Minister of Industry
Airlangga Hartarto Airlangga Hartarto (born 1 October 1962) is an Indonesian politician and businessman. He is the current Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs (Indonesia), Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs in President Joko Widodo's Onward Indones ...
was elected chairman of Golkar in 2018. The
National Mandate Party The National Mandate Party (), frequently abbreviated to PAN, is a non-sectarian, religion-basedAl-Hamdi, Ridho (2017). ''Moving towards a Normalised Path: Political Islam in Contemporary Indonesia''. Jurnal Studi Pemerintahan (Journal of Governme ...
(PAN) had also switched sides beforehand but later returned to being the opposition in 2018. Jokowi announced the 34 names in his cabinet on 26 October 2014. While it was praised for the inclusiveness of women, with
Retno Marsudi Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi (born 27 November 1962) is an Indonesian diplomat who formerly served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of Joko Widodo between 2014 and 2024. She is the first female minister appointed to the pos ...
becoming Indonesia's first female foreign minister, it received criticism for several perceived political inclusions, such as
Puan Maharani Puan Maharani Nakshatra Kusyala Devi (born 6 September 1973) is an Indonesian politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who is serving as the current List of Speakers of the People's Representative Council, speaker of t ...
(daughter of
Megawati Sukarnoputri Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) 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 200 ...
). The Jokowi administration also saw the formation of two new ministries (Ministry of Public Works and Housing and Ministry of Environment and Forestry) from a merger of old ministries, in addition to renaming and reorganisation of other ministries. He conducted a total of three cabinet reshuffles until 2018, removing ministers such as
Rizal Ramli Rizal Ramli (10 December 1954 – 2 January 2024) was an Indonesian politician, economist, and student activist. Ramli served as Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs under President Joko Widodo's Working Cabinet. He also served under P ...
and
Bambang Brodjonegoro Bambang Permadi Soemantri Brodjonegoro is an Indonesian economist. He was the Minister of Research and Technology/National Research and Innovation Agency of the Republic of Indonesia. Previously, he was the Minister of National Development Planni ...
while including ministers such as Luhut and
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
Director
Sri Mulyani Indrawati Sri Mulyani Indrawati (born 26 August 1962) is an Indonesian economist who has served as Minister of Finance (Indonesia), Minister of Finance of Indonesia since 2016 under President of Indonesia, President Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto. She ha ...
. Another reshuffle occurred in December 2020, replacing six ministers including two apprehended by the KPK. He was criticised by PDI-P over perceived policy weaknesses, and PDI-P legislator Effendi Simbolon called for his impeachment. On 9 April 2015, during a PDI-P Congress, party leader
Megawati Sukarnoputri Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) 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 200 ...
referred to Jokowi as a functionary. She noted that presidential candidates are nominated by political parties, hinting that Jokowi owed his position to the party and should carry out its policy line. Several months prior, Megawati and Jokowi had disputed over the appointment of a new police chief, with Megawati supporting her former adjutant Budi Gunawan while Jokowi supported Badrodin Haiti. Following his re-election, Jokowi announced his second cabinet on 23 October 2019. He retained several ministers such as Sri Mulyani and Luhut but also included
Gojek PT Gojek Indonesia (stylized in all lower case and stylized ''j'' as goȷek, formerly styled as GO-JEK) is an Indonesian on-demand multi-service platform and digital payment technology group based in Jakarta. Gojek was first established in Ind ...
founder
Nadiem Makarim Nadiem Anwar Makarim (born 4 July 1984) is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is the only Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Indonesia), minister of education, culture, research, and technology of Indonesia, serv ...
and two-time presidential rival
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 ...
as education and defence ministers, respectively. In the first year of his second presidential term, his approval rating fell to 45.2%, and the disapproval rating was 52%. His deputy, Ma'ruf Amin, had a 67% disapproval rating. The low ratings were attributed to unpopular policies. At the start of 2023, his approval ratings had reached an all-time high of 76.2%, following easing of COVID-19 restrictions.


Politics

Early in his first term, the opposition coalition within the DPR attempted to revoke a regulation (''Perppu'', Government Regulation in Lieu of Acts) issued by Jokowi's predecessor, which had guaranteed the holding of direct regional elections in Indonesia (and overrode a legislator-issued bill which arranged for indirect elections). Jokowi supported the direct regional elections and opposed attempts to revoke the regulation, stating that "direct regional elections was, in principle, non-negotiable". Within the first three years of his administration, Jokowi issued four such ''Perppu''. Jokowi's government, including parties which opposed him during presidential elections, have been described as a
big tent A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a political party having members covering a broad spectrum of beliefs. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined ideology, seek voters who adhere to that ideology, and att ...
government, and by former Singaporean foreign minister
George Yeo George Yeo Yong-Boon ( zh, s=杨荣文, p=Yáng Róngwén; born 13 September 1954) is a Singaporean former politician and brigadier-general who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs between 2004 and 2011. Yeo served in the Singapore Army an ...
as "democracy with Javanese characteristics". Following his re-election in 2019, a number of prominent politicians began floating the idea of amending the constitution to permit Jokowi to run for a third term in 2024. Key cabinet members voicing their support for a term limit extension included Coordinating Ministers
Airlangga Hartarto Airlangga Hartarto (born 1 October 1962) is an Indonesian politician and businessman. He is the current Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs (Indonesia), Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs in President Joko Widodo's Onward Indones ...
and
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan (EYD: ''Luhut Binsar Panjaitan'', born 28 September 1947) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and retired four-star Army general who has been serving as Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investments (I ...
. The proposal became more prominent following the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, due to disruptions to government programs in his second term. By April 2022, Jokowi explicitly announced that he would not be seeking a third term, and ordered his cabinet to refrain from publicly speaking about a term limit extension or an election delay. While not running for a third term, Jokowi explicitly stated to media outlets that he would not be a neutral actor, and will "meddle" in the
2024 presidential election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...
. He also held meetings with leaders of political parties in his capacity as president. In September 2023, during a public rally, Jokowi stated that he was in possession of intelligence information collected by government agencies (naming BIN and BAIS) on internal workings of political parties. In October 2023, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia
Anwar Usman Anwar Usman (born 31 December 1956) is an Indonesian judge and jurist who served as the sixth Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. He was elected to the position on 2 April 2018, replacing Arief Hidayat. Previously, he served ...
(Jokowi's brother-in-law) made a ruling which created a loophole for the minimum age requirement of presidential and vice-presidential candidates, hence allowing Jokowi's son
Gibran Rakabuming Raka Gibran Rakabuming Raka (born 1 October 1987) is an Indonesian politician and businessman who has been 14th Vice President of Indonesia, vice president of Indonesia since 2024. Previously the 18th mayor of Surakarta from 2021 to 2024, he is the e ...
to run as Prabowo's running mate in 2024. Usman was later reprimanded by a judicial panel for the decision and was made to step down as Chief Justice. On 12 February 2024, investigative journalist
Dandhy Laksono Dandhy Dwi Laksono (born 29 June 1976) is an Indonesian activist, investigative journalist, and filmmaker. He is known for the 2019 documentary film ''Sexy Killers'', released prior to the 2019 Indonesian general election, which documented the coll ...
released a documentary on YouTube directed by him, titled ''Dirty Vote'', alleging that Jokowi used state funds to support Prabowo's campaign. Prabowo ultimately won the election with a wide margin, which analysts attributed to Jokowi's support. Jokowi was further accused of interference in the
2024 Indonesian local elections Local executive elections ( Indonesian: ''Pemilihan Kepala Daerah'' or Pilkada) to elect governors, mayors and regents in Indonesia were held on 27 November 2024 across 545 regions: 37 provinces, 415 regencies and 93 cities, which covered all pr ...
due to a controversy over requirements of candidate age (notably affecting his son
Kaesang Pangarep Kaesang Pangarep (born 25 December 1994) is an Indonesian politician, entrepreneur, and YouTuber. He is the third and youngest child of former Indonesian president Joko Widodo. In September 2023, he was appointed as chairman of the Indonesian Sol ...
) and political support (notably affecting
Anies Baswedan Anies Rasyid Baswedan (, born 7 May 1969) is an Indonesian academic, activist, and politician who served as the Governor of Jakarta from 2017 to 2022. A student activist and political analyst before entering public service, he served as the Recto ...
, known as a staunch critic of his administration).


Law and human rights

Judicial executions in Indonesia are carried out under a presidential decree following a death sentence imposed by a trial court. Jokowi in 2015 said he would not grant
clemency A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
for drug offenders sentenced to death, arguing Indonesia was in a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
over
drug-related crime A drug-related crime is a crime to possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse (such as cocaine, heroin, morphine and amphetamines). Drugs are also related to crime as drug trafficking and drug product ...
s, citing statistics the ''
Jakarta Globe The ''Jakarta Globe'' is a daily online English-language newspaper in Indonesia, launched in November 2008. The paper initially came out as a print newspaper with an average of 48 pages a day, and published Monday to Saturday. It had three sect ...
'' reported to be faulty. His stance drew criticism as it could harm relations with the native countries of the condemned convicts, and also imperil Indonesians facing the death penalty abroad. Australia, Brazil and the Netherlands recalled their ambassadors from Indonesia following multiple executions in 2015. Australia reduced its foreign aid to Indonesia by nearly half, and
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
issued a condemnation saying they showed a "complete disregard for due process and human rights safeguards". Former Indonesian Constitutional Court chief justice
Jimly Asshiddiqie Jimly Asshiddiqie (born 17 April 1956) is an Indonesian academic who served as the first chief justice of Indonesia's Constitutional Court from 2003 to 2008. Education and academic career Jimmy graduated from high school in Palembang in 1973. ...
, who was a key player in the anti-death penalty lobby in Jakarta, said the push for the execution of Australians
Myuran Sukumaran Myuran Sukumaran (17 April 1981 – 29 April 2015) was an Australian who was convicted in Indonesia of drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Sukumaran was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta, Bali with eight othe ...
and Andrew Chan had come from Jokowi personally. ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' reported that Jokowi did not have or read related documents when he refused their clemency requests. In the same year, Jokowi granted Frenchman Serge Atlaoui and Filipino
Mary Jane Veloso Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso (10 January 1985) is a Filipino who was arrested in Indonesia for drug trafficking in 2010 and then sentenced to death after being found guilty at trial. Granted a temporary Pardon#Related concepts, reprieve in 2015, she ...
temporary reprieves due to pending legal appeals. As of 2017, around 260 people remain on death row in Indonesia. Regarding terrorism, Jokowi's administration in early 2016 proposed replacing the 2003 anti-terrorism law. Following the 2018
Surabaya bombings The 2018 Surabaya bombings were a series of terrorist attacks that initially occurred on 13 May 2018 in three churches in Surabaya, the List of Indonesian cities by population, second largest city in Indonesia and the capital of East Java provi ...
, the worst terrorist attack on Indonesian soil since the
2002 Bali bombings The 2002 Bali bombings were a series of terrorist attacks on 12 October 2002 in the tourist district of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. The attacks killed 202 people (including 88 Australians, 38 Indonesians, 23 Britons, and people ...
, the controversial bill passed, allowing 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 ('' ...
to participate in
counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...
activities upon police request and presidential approval. It also allowed extended detention of terror suspects and permitted wiretapping without initial court approval. Jokowi had threatened to issue a presidential regulation in lieu of law (''Perppu'') if the bill did not pass the parliament by June that year. During Jokowi's administration, there have been numerous instances where people were arrested or reported to police for activities deemed insulting to the president. Rights activists deem such arrests as a violation of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
's guarantee of freedom of speech. A group claiming to be Jokowi's supporters reported ''Tempo'' magazine to police over a caricature of Jokowi as
Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...
, after which the Presidential Palace issued a statement saying "the President respected freedom of press and speech". A book about Jokowi titled ''Jokowi Undercover'' was banned upon release and its author sentenced to three years in prison and buyers of the book being advised to surrender their copies to the authorities. ''Tempo'' magazine described the 436-page book as "trashy and tasteless, a compilation of hoax reports on President Joko Widodo, scattered across the internet and cyber chatrooms". The government's plans to resurrect a Dutch colonial law that would permit imprisonment for insulting the president resulted in widespread protests. A Law Firm and Public Interest Law Office (AMAR) institution later reported following the protests that they received many complaints of students regarding threats and sanctions of expulsion or suspension from their schools and universities. In addition, a remission granted to a journalist's murderer was revoked following media criticism. In response to major protests, Jokowi's administration has generated some controversies. On 22 May 2019, amid post-election riots by supporters of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, the government limited the speed at which photos and videos could be shared on social media to stop people from being incited by fake news and calls for violence. In the aftermath,
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
's Indonesian office denounced repressive measures against the demonstrators, condemned them as a grave human rights abuse and demanded the government investigate the extrajudicial executions in the clashes. In August and September 2019, the government blocked internet access in Papua and West Papua provinces amid violent protests against racism. Jakarta State Administrative Court in 2020 ruled the internet blocks in Papua illegal. In 2017, Jokowi supported a controversial bill on mass organisations, which upon passing resulted in the disbandment of the Indonesian branch of
Hizb ut-Tahrir Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT; ) is an international pan-Islamist and Islamic fundamentalist political organization whose stated aim is the re-establishment of the Islamic caliphate to unite the Muslim community (called ''ummah'') and implement sharia glo ...
. He argued the law was necessary to defend the national ideology, Pancasila. The 2020 banning of the
Islamic Defenders Front The Islamic Defenders Front (; ) was an Indonesian hardline Islamist organization founded in 1998 by Muhammad Rizieq Shihab with backing from military and political figures. Since 2015, Ahmad Shabri Lubis has been the organization's leader, w ...
(FPI) was also based on that law. Twenty-three days' earlier, police had shot dead six FPI members during a confrontation. The president's subsequent defence of the police during their duty and his statement that no citizens should break the law or harm the country was criticised by FPI secretary-general Munarman as a justification of human rights abuse and
structural violence Structural violence is a form of violence wherein some social structure or social institution may harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs or rights. The term was coined by Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung, who intr ...
. A police chief involved in the car chase and subsequent murder claimed that the members were armed. After the passing of several controversial bills and repressive crackdowns from security officers on major protests since 2019, his presidency has been criticised for "neo-authoritarianism." The ''
South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...
'' even named him 'Little
Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...
.' A premium price hike of public health care
BPJS Kesehatan Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan Sosial Kesehatan (BPJS Kesehatan, ) is a social security agency of Indonesia aimed at providing universal health care to its citizens. BPJS Kesehatan is one of two social security agencies in the country alongside . I ...
through Executive Order (''Perpres'') 64/2020 was criticised as a flagrant breach of permanent
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
(''Mahkamah Agung'') decision that nullified the ''Perpres'' 82/2018 about the price hike. The ''Perpres'' 64/2020 itself was signed amid the COVID-19 pandemic that had caused hardship among the population. His former deputy mayor of Surakarta,
F. X. Hadi Rudyatmo Fransiskus Xaverius Hadi Rudyatmo (born 13 February 1960) is an Indonesian politician and former Mayor of Surakarta. His party is the Indonesian Democratic Party – Struggle (PDI-P). Before he was mayor, he had been elected into Surakarta's ci ...
, also voiced similar concerns. Jokowi's presidency coincided with the 50th anniversary of the
Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66 Large-scale killings and civil unrest primarily targeting members and supposed sympathizers of the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) were carried out in Indonesia from 1965 to 1966. Other affected groups included alleged communist sympathise ...
in 2015. A government-supported symposium to resolve human rights violations surrounding the event was held in 2016, but Jokowi said his government would not apologise to the victims of the mass purge. On
LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
, Jokowi stated that "there should be no discrimination against anyone", but added that "in terms of our beliefs,
he LGBT lifestyle He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter call ...
isn't allowed, Islam does not allow it." Under his presidency, the controversial
transmigration program The transmigration program (, from Dutch language, Dutch, ''transmigratie'') was an initiative of the Netherlands, Dutch Dutch East Indies, colonial government and later continued by the government of Indonesia, Indonesian government to move lan ...
was cut once more, when in 2015, it was decided to end the migration program to the Papuan provinces. Following the July 2022 murder of Nofriansyah Yosua Hutabarat, an Indonesian police officer, there were allegations of police involvement in a cover-up. Police chief General
Listyo Sigit Prabowo Police-General Listyo Sigit Prabowo (born 5 May 1969) is an Indonesian General officer, high ranking police officer, who is currently the Chief of the Indonesian National Police (Kapolri). He was previously the Head of the Criminal Investigation ...
took over the investigation, forming a special team including members of the Human Rights Commission and Police Commissions. Jokowi was keen for the force to be open about what happens: "Open it as it is. No cover-up. Transparent. That's it. This is important so that the people don't have doubts over the incident that occurred. This is what has to be maintained. Public trust in the police must be maintained." In August 2022, Hutabarat's former superior, Inspector General Ferdy Sambo, head of internal affairs of the Indonesian National Police, along with three others, was charged with Hutabarat's murder. On 27 December 2023, hundreds of students from various universities in
Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...
, such as Abulyatama University, Bina Bangsa Getsempena University, and
University of Muhammadiyah Aceh Muhammadiyah (), officially Muhammadiyah Society () is a major Islamic non-governmental organization in Indonesia.A. Jalil HamidTackle the rising cost of living longer New Straits Times, 30 October 2016. Accessed 1 November 2016. The organization ...
, stormed a shelter for Rohingya refugees and forced them out of a convention center in the city of
Banda Aceh Banda Aceh (; , Jawi script, Jawi: ) is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of 35 metres. The city covers an area of and had a population of 223,446 peopl ...
, demanding them to be deported The students were also seen kicking the belongings of the Rohingya men, women, and children who were seated on the floor and crying in fear. They burned tires and chanted "Kick them out" and "Reject Rohingya in Aceh." Joko Widodo later responded by inviting society to maintain tolerance and peace and to unite in maintaining a sense of unity, cooperation, and humanity, as well as being alert to world crises, such as food and economic crises, disputes between nations, and war.


Economy

Before taking office, Jokowi sought for outgoing president
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (born 9 September 1949), commonly referred to as SBY, is an Indonesian politician and retired Indonesian Army, army general who served as the sixth president of Indonesia from 2004 to 2014 and the second president of Ind ...
(SBY) to take responsibility for the decision to further increase fuel prices by further removing subsidies. Previous attempts by SBY to do so had resulted in civil unrest. On 1 January 2015, Jokowi took measures that, on the surface, appeared to reduce fuel subsidies. The policy stirred up some demonstrations, with Jokowi citing it as necessary to increase funding for the infrastructure, education and health sectors. However, since March 2015, the government has set the price of Premium-branded petrol far below the market price, causing the fuel subsidy to be incurred by state-owned oil company
Pertamina PT Pertamina (Persero) is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation, headquartered in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of ''Pertamin'' (established 1961) and ''Permina'' (established in 1957). In 2020, the ...
instead of the direct government account. Additionally, the government also implemented a single-price program, aiming to sell fuel through official channels at the same price nationally, including in isolated parts of
Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...
and Papua. The government claimed that this was achieved in 2017. In the first quarter of 2015, year-on-year GDP grew 4.92%, and in the second quarter, it grew 4.6%, the lowest figure since 2009. Since then, growth has remained above the 5% mark, which is still below what is considered a healthy economic. The
Indonesian rupiah The rupiah (Currency symbol, symbol: Rp; ISO 4217, currency code: IDR) is the official currency of Indonesia, issued and controlled by Bank Indonesia. Its name is derived from the Sanskrit word for silver, (). Sometimes, Indonesians also inform ...
(IDR) has also weakened throughout Jokowi's administration, with its exchange rate per
US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...
briefly passing IDR 15,000 in 2018, the lowest level since the
1997 Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide eco ...
, and sank lower to 16,700 in 2020. The year-on-year inflation in June 2015 was 7.26%, higher than in May (7.15%) and June the year before (6.7%). In 2016, the administration signed into law a tax amnesty bill following a lengthy public debate and push back, giving wealthy Indonesians a chance to declare their unreported assets before the government would strengthen rules and oversight around imports and exports. It became the most successful program of its kind in history, with over IDR 4,865 trillion (approximately US$366 billion) of previously unreported assets declared to the tax office. Infrastructure development has been a significant feature of the Jokowi administration, focusing on road and railway expansion, seaports and airports development, and irrigation. In 2016, the state budget allocated Rp 290 trillion (US$22 billion) for infrastructure, the biggest in Indonesian history. In total, his administration planned 265 infrastructure projects starting in 2016. In September 2015, Indonesia awarded a $5.5 billion high-speed rail project to China, to Japan's disappointment, which is also vying for the project. Indonesia's transportation ministry laid out a litany of shortcomings in plans for the project, casting doubt on the project and spotlighting Jokowi's limits in turning mega-projects into reality as he tries to draw foreign investors. Other significant projects include the completion of the 4,325-kilometre
Trans Papua The Trans-Papua Highway ( Indonesian: ''Jalan Raya Trans-Papua'') refers to 12 road segments, some under construction, across Western New Guinea in Indonesia, located in the island of New Guinea. The roads stretch from Sorong to Merauke with a ...
road and the
Trans-Java Toll Road The Trans-Java Toll Road is a toll road, tolled controlled-access highway, expressway network in Java, the island of Java, Indonesia, runs from Port of Merak in Cilegon, the main link between the island of Sumatra and Java, to Banyuwangi, the eas ...
, initial construction of the
Trans-Sulawesi Railway The Trans-Sulawesi Railway (), is a railway network in the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The first phase includes 146 kilometers route from Makassar to Parepare, which was completed in November 2022 and has been operating ever since. The total p ...
and the
Trans-Sumatra Toll Road Trans-Sumatra Toll Road is an under-construction tolled expressway stretching across Sumatra Island in Indonesia from the northern tip of Banda Aceh to the southern tip of Bakauheni. This toll road was originally planned to connect to the est ...
, a US$50 billion plan to develop the maritime sector including 24 "strategic ports", and expansion of airport capacity in remote areas. The ports' development and modernisation program, dubbed the " Sea Toll Road" program, was aimed to reduce price inequality between the better developed western parts of the country and the less populated eastern parts. The opposition criticised the aggressive spending on infrastructure as it increased Indonesia's national debt by 48% between 2014 and March 2018 to US$181 billion. They also pointed out that most of the debt was allocated for remunerations rather than infrastructure development. In April 2018, Jokowi also issued a new policy that allows foreign workers in Indonesia without Indonesian language skills requirement, reasoning that it would increase investments. The policy faced significant opposition from local labour unions, who claimed that the policy would increase unemployment rates. In 2019, during the presidential election campaign, Jokowi created a new program called the , a training assistance program to improve the competence of the workforce in Indonesia both in the context of skills, retraining, and skills enhancement. Together with the and the . Prospective participants who meet the requirements for the Pre-Employment Card will receive training funds of IDR 1,000,000 which can then be spent through digital platforms that are partners of the program's management. Training curated from more than 150 training institutions can be purchased and followed online from anywhere. During the
COVID-19 outbreak The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon after, ...
, the government changed the Pre-Employment Card to a semi-social assistance program to help the workforce affected by layoffs (PHK) and those who had just graduated from formal education. To expand the scope of assistance, the budget was doubled to IDR 20 trillion. By issuing the Pre-Employment Card in April 2020, the government hopes that this card will provide benefits and solutions through the pre-employment card such as: helping to reduce training costs borne by workers and companies, being able to reduce costs in finding information about training improving Indonesian human resources to be more skilled and competitive in the world of work, making it an addition to formal education Through this pre-employment card program. Unfortunately, this very good program was not developed further, only limited to online training. In 2020, the DPR passed the
Omnibus Law on Job Creation The Job Creation Act (), officially Act Number 11/2020 on Job Creation (''Undang-Undang Nomor 11 Tahun 2020 Tentang Cipta Kerja'', or UU 11/2020), is a bill that was passed on 5 October 2020 by Indonesia's House of Representatives (Indonesia), ...
. Though intended to boost investment and reduce
red tape Red tape is a concept employed to denounce excessive or redundant regulation and adherence to formal rules for creating unnecessary constraints on action and decision-making. The occurrence of red tape is usually associated with governments but a ...
, it is also perceived as weakening labour and environmental protections, causing a series of protests in major cities. Jokowi defended the law by saying that it would be needed to create jobs and called for protesters to lodge a challenge instead to the
Constitutional Court of Indonesia The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia () is one of the apex courts in Indonesia along with the Indonesian Supreme Court. Its primary role is reviewing the constitutionality of Acts (''undang-undang''). It also has other functi ...
. The law, which revised over 70 previous laws and contained some 1,200 clauses, had been put forward by Jokowi following his 2019 re-election. Several groups had criticised the opaqueness of the government during the deliberation of the law. In the same year, Indonesia hit the lowest inflation level in history and faced the first economic recession since the 1997 Asian Financial crisis. In November 2021, Jokowi promised to end and reverse
deforestation in Indonesia Deforestation in Indonesia involves the long-term loss of forests and foliage across much of the country; it has had massive environmental and social impacts. Indonesia is home to some of the most biologically diverse forests in the world and r ...
by 2030, in the COP26 climate summit's first major agreement. The
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
officially approved a measure to phase out
palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...
-based
biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...
s by 2030. During a meeting with European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...
, Jokowi expressed concern about the
EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products The EU Regulation on Deforestation-free productsRegulation (EU) 2023/1115 abbreviated EUDR) is a European Union regulation on deforestation. The goal of the EUDR is to guarantee that the products European Union (EU) citizens consume do not cont ...
(EUDR), which aims to prevent products linked to
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...
from reaching the EU market. The Jokowi administration continued its predecessor's natural resource nationalism policy, increasing the government's shareholding in multinational companies such as Freeport McMoRan,
TotalEnergies TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and is one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas explorati ...
and
Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...
. In 2018, in a move aimed to cut imports, oil companies operating in Indonesia were ordered to sell their crude oil to state-owned
Pertamina PT Pertamina (Persero) is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation, headquartered in Jakarta. It was created in August 1968 by the merger of ''Pertamin'' (established 1961) and ''Permina'' (established in 1957). In 2020, the ...
. A ban was also enforced on the exports of raw nickel ore, intended to help promote the development of local nickel-related industries such as smelters and battery factories. The policy was further extended, with export bans of unprocessed copper, tin, bauxite and gold ores expected to come into force in mid 2023. By 2023, Indonesian nickel exports had risen from USD 3 billion annually to USD 30 billion.


Foreign policy

Prior to Jokowi's election, Indonesia's foreign policy was shaped by his predecessor's statement, "a thousand friends and zero enemies." Jokowi has mandated a three-pronged policy of maintaining Indonesia's sovereignty, enhancing the protection of Indonesian citizens, and intensifying economic diplomacy. The Indonesian foreign policy under his tenure has been described as "pragmatic and inward-looking," with a focus on economic development and attracting investment. Throughout his ten years in office, he did not attend a single session of the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
, although he did gave two address it virtually in 2020 and 2021. Jokowi aspires Indonesia to become a global maritime power (, ). He sees the sea as having an increasingly important role in Indonesia's future and that as a maritime country, Indonesia must assert itself as a force between the two oceans: the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
and the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. The five pillars of this maritime-axis doctrine are rebuilding Indonesia's maritime culture, maintaining and managing marine resources, developing maritime infrastructure and connectivity as well as developing the shipping industry and maritime tourism, inviting other nations to cooperate in the marine field and eliminate the source of conflicts at sea, and developing maritime defence forces. As part of this vision, Jokowi has adopted a tougher stance on
illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...
. He stated that Jakarta could no longer tolerate a situation where over 5,000 ships are operating illegally in its waters every day, making a mockery out of Indonesian sovereignty and resulting in annual losses of over $20 billion. On the
territorial disputes in the South China Sea Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), and Vietnam have conflicting island and maritime claims in the South China Sea. The disputes involve the islands, reefs, banks, ...
, particularly in the
Natuna Islands Natuna Regency is an islands regency located in the northernmost part of the Province of Riau Islands, Indonesia. It contains at least 154 islands, of which 127 of them are reported as uninhabited. This archipelago, with a land area of 1,978.4 ...
where China's
nine-dash line The nine-dash line, also referred to as the eleven-dash line by Taiwan, is a set of line segments on various maps that accompanied the claims of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC, "Mainland China") and the Taiwan, Republic of China (RO ...
intercepts Indonesian
EEZ An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
claims, Jokowi stated that "there will be no compromise on sovereignty," and renamed Indonesia's section of the waters in the
South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
as "North Natuna Sea." In June 2016, he held a cabinet meeting off the islands aboard the
Indonesian Navy The Indonesian Navy (, TNI-AL) is the Navy, naval branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It was founded on 10 September 1945 and has a role to patrol Indonesia's lengthy coastline, to enforce and patrol the territorial waters and Exclus ...
corvette KRI ''Imam Bonjol'', calling to step up maritime patrols in the area. Under his administration, Indonesia has released an "Indo-Pacific Vision" for
ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...
countries, which calls for regional architecture and considers the Indian and
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
s as a single interconnected geostrategic area. Indonesia also entered a trilateral cooperation agreement with Malaysia and the Philippines, allowing coordinated patrols in the pirate-infested
Sulu Sea The Sulu Sea (; Tausug: ''Dagat sin Sūg''; ; ) is a body of water in the southwestern area of the Philippines, separated from the South China Sea in the northwest by Palawan and from the Celebes Sea in the southeast by the Sulu Archipela ...
. In the Muslim world, Jokowi released a statement calling for the
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
leaders at the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; ; ), formerly the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, is an intergovernmental organisation founded in 1969. It consists of Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, 57 member s ...
summit meeting in
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
to unite in reconciliation and push for
Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...
independence. Under Jokowi, Indonesia's foreign minister has visited Palestine but refused entreaties to establish bilateral diplomatic relations with Israel. An
honorary consul A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...
was established in
Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...
in the
West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
though it had to be inaugurated in
Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...
,
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
. Jokowi also condemned the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
and oversaw the departure of four
Indonesian Air Force The Indonesian Air Force (, sometimes shortened as IDAF / IdAF) is the Air force, aerial branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. The Indonesian Air Force is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia, and is headed by the Chief of Staff of th ...
transport planes with 34 tons of relief supplies for
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals from Rakhine State who are living in Bangladesh. The Rohingya people have experienced ethnic and religious persecution in Myanmar for decades. Hundreds of thousands have fle ...
. In October 2021, Jokowi advocated
COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...
equity, urging richer countries to share their vaccines with poorer ones. Responding to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, Jokowi visited both countries in July 2022, meeting with both Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...
and Russian President
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
, emphasizing in statements the need for
peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...
and for the restoration of global food supply chains. Despite his visit achieved nothing in contributing peace between both countries, Jokowi was praised for his effort as a mediator. As Indonesia hosted the 2022 G20 Summit that year, Jokowi also invited Zelenskyy to attend, while resisting calls to revoke Russia's invitation to the summit. During a press conference at the White House on 14 November 2023, Jokowi called for a ceasefire in the
Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
, "for the sake of humanity," and urged US President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
to do more to end "atrocities" in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
. On 11 October, 2024, 2 Indonesian TNI soldiers serving as
UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...
peacekeepers were injured by IDF tank gunfire on the UNIFIL headquarters located in
Naqoura An-Naqoura (, ''Enn Nâqoura, Naqoura, An Nāqūrah'') is a municipality in southern Lebanon. Since March 23, 1978, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been headquartered in An-Naqoura. Etymology According to E. H. Palmer ( ...
, southern
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
. In response, Jokowi called for caution amidst the apparent escalation and widening of the Israel-Hamas War to Lebanon.


New capital

By April 2019, it was made public that Jokowi had decided in a meeting with cabinet ministers to move the
capital of Indonesia The capital of Indonesia, officially the capital of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (), is Jakarta, one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Southeast Asia. Jakarta, previousl ...
away from Jakarta to a location outside
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
. On 25 August 2019, it was further announced that the new capital would be located in
Kalimantan Kalimantan (; ) is the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo. It constitutes 73% of the island's area, and consists of the provinces of Central Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, North Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, and West Kalimantan. The non-Ind ...
, between the regencies of Penajam North Paser and
Kutai Kartanegara Kutai Kartanegara Regency (abbreviated as ''Kukar'') is a Regency (Indonesia), regency of East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia. It has a land area of 27,891.13 km2 and a water area of 4,097 km2, geographically located between 1°18′4 ...
. On 30 July 2024, Jokowi began working in the new capital, which was called Nusantara.


Post-presidency

Jokowi's second term ended on 20 October 2024, and he was succeeded by
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 ...
with Jokowi's eldest son becoming vice president. In the
2024 Indonesian local elections Local executive elections ( Indonesian: ''Pemilihan Kepala Daerah'' or Pilkada) to elect governors, mayors and regents in Indonesia were held on 27 November 2024 across 545 regions: 37 provinces, 415 regencies and 93 cities, which covered all pr ...
, he publicly endorsed 84 candidates for governors, mayors and regents. Jokowi-backed candidates received a significant boost in the election, namely in
Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...
where the candidate backed by Jokowi defeated the PDI-P backed candidate in the party's traditional stronghold, and in
North Sumatra North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...
where Jokowi's son-in-law
Bobby Nasution Muhammad Bobby Afif Nasution (born 5 July 1991) is an Indonesian businessman and politician currently serving as the governor of North Sumatra. He was previously Medan's mayor between 2021 and 2025. He is the son-in-law of former President Joko Wi ...
defeated the previous governor.


Personal life

Jokowi married his wife Iriana on 24 December 1986. The couple has two sons and one daughter. Their first son,
Gibran Rakabuming Raka Gibran Rakabuming Raka (born 1 October 1987) is an Indonesian politician and businessman who has been 14th Vice President of Indonesia, vice president of Indonesia since 2024. Previously the 18th mayor of Surakarta from 2021 to 2024, he is the e ...
(born 1 October 1987), studied abroad in Sydney and Singapore (at the Management Development Institute of Singapore, MDIS) and served as the mayor of
Surakarta Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
, Jokowi's hometown, from 2021-2024. Their only daughter, Kahiyang Ayu (born 20 April 1992), completed an undergraduate degree in food technology at the state-owned
Sebelas Maret University Sebelas Maret University (, abbreviated as UNS) is a public university in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. It was officially founded on 11 March 1976. History Since the 1950s, the city of Surakarta sought a local public university, considerin ...
in Surakarta. Their second son,
Kaesang Pangarep Kaesang Pangarep (born 25 December 1994) is an Indonesian politician, entrepreneur, and YouTuber. He is the third and youngest child of former Indonesian president Joko Widodo. In September 2023, he was appointed as chairman of the Indonesian Sol ...
(born 25 December 1994), completed his high school years in ACS International, Singapore, is mostly known as an online vlogger. Jokowi has five grandchildren: a grandson and a granddaughter from Gibran (born in 2016 and 2019 respectively) and a granddaughter and two grandsons from Kahiyang (born in 2018, 2020 and 2022 respectively). Several members of Jokowi's family entered politics, running as candidates in 2020 local elections. Gibran declared his candidacy for the mayorship of Surakarta, in addition to his son-in-law
Bobby Nasution Muhammad Bobby Afif Nasution (born 5 July 1991) is an Indonesian businessman and politician currently serving as the governor of North Sumatra. He was previously Medan's mayor between 2021 and 2025. He is the son-in-law of former President Joko Wi ...
(
Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
) and brother-in-law Wahyu Purwanto (
Gunung Kidul Regency Gunůngkidůl () is a Regency (Indonesia), regency area located in the Special Province of the Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The administrative centre is the town of Wonosari. The name "Gunungkidul" comes from the Javanese language ''moun ...
). Gibran and Bobby won their elections, and both took office in 2021, while Wahyu dropped his bid due to Jokowi's request for him not to run. Jokowi's younger sister Idayati married
Anwar Usman Anwar Usman (born 31 December 1956) is an Indonesian judge and jurist who served as the sixth Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. He was elected to the position on 2 April 2018, replacing Arief Hidayat. Previously, he served ...
,
Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia The chief justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia () is the head of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. List of chief justices First chief justice. The first chief justice was Jimly Asshiddiqie. He was well known as law professor o ...
, in May 2022. In September 2023, Kaesang entered politics by joining
Indonesian Solidarity Party The Indonesian Solidarity Party (, PSI) is a List of political parties in Indonesia, political party in Indonesia that focuses on women's rights, Pluralism (political theory), pluralism, and Indonesian youth. It is led by Kaesang Pangarep who is t ...
and is named chairman few days later. A month later, Gibran is announced as a vice-presidential candidate in the
2024 presidential election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...
. Jokowi has been described as "Muslim but broadly secular in his outlook." His statement in 2019 that religion and politics should be separated prompted a public debate on whether he was promoting secularism in the country. In June 2013, a film titled ''Jokowi'', depicting Jokowi's childhood and youth, was released. He expressed some objections to the film, saying that he felt his life had been a simple one and was not worthy of being adapted into a film. According to ''
The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...
'', Jokowi "has a penchant for loud rock music" and owned a bass guitar signed by
Robert Trujillo Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician who has been the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash band ...
of heavy metal band
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
which was confiscated by the KPK. In November 2017, Danish Prime Minister
Lars Løkke Rasmussen Lars Løkke Rasmussen (; born 15 May 1964) is a Danish politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022. He previously served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He was Leader of the Ve ...
, who was on an official visit to Jakarta, gave Jokowi a Metallica ''
Master of Puppets ''Master of Puppets'' is the third studio album by the American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica, released on March 3, 1986, by Elektra Records. Recorded in Copenhagen, Denmark, at Sweet Silence Studios with producer Flemming Rasmu ...
'' vinyl box set as a
diplomatic gift A diplomatic gift is a gift given by a :diplomat, politician or leader when visiting a foreign country. Usually the gift is reciprocated by the host. The use of diplomatic gifts dates back to the ancient world and givers have competed to outdo e ...
. It was signed by the band's drummer and co-founder,
Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician who is the drummer and a founding member of American heavy metal band Metallica. Along with James Hetfield, Ulrich has songwriting credits on almost all of the band's songs, and the ...
, a Danish native. Under his policy of transparency, Jokowi paid IDR 11 million ($800) out of his personal funds to claim the record, which had been declared a state asset to avoid accusations of gratification. In support of
Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...
's tour to Indonesia in 2018, the band's lead vocalist
Dave Mustaine David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is best known as the co-founder, frontman, primary songwriter and sole consistent member of the thrash metal band Megadeth and for his time as the lead guitarist of Met ...
invited Jokowi to attend the concert. Unable to attend, Jokowi opens the concert through a video greeting, saying "I am a fan of Megadeth, I like their songs; Sweating Bullets, Ashes in Your Mouth, and Wake Up Dead. Enjoy watching everyone". He is also a fan of other metal bands including
Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...
,
Carcass Carcass or Carcase (both pronounced ) may refer to: * Dressed carcass, the body of a livestock animal ready for butchery, after removal of skin, visceral organs, head, feet etc. *Carrion, the decaying dead body of an animal or human being, also c ...
and
Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in Meriden, West Midlands, in 1981. None of the band's original members have been in the group since 1986, but since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mi ...
. On 2 November 2013, while he was the Governor of Jakarta, he was seen in the rock festival Rock in Solo in casual dress. He has also been noted by many to be very similar in appearance to former US president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
; his outsider political profile also inspired comparisons to Obama. Jokowi is a
silat Silat is the collective term for a class of martial arts from the Nusantara and surrounding geocultural areas of Southeast Asia. It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Philippi ...
practitioner. He had been practicing Setia Hati Terate style from Persaudaraan Setia Hati Terate school since his time at junior high school and eventually mastering it. He attained first degree ''
pendekar Pendekar (hero; master of swordsmanship or martial arts), Pandikar or Pandeka is a Malay word to reference or address a warrior who mastered martial arts, particularly silat. Not all masters carry the title; it must be either officially bestowed ...
warga'' rank of the silat school on 16 November 2013.


Controversies


Allegations of neo-authoritarianism

Jokowi was criticized for his policies that tend to weaken the opposition parties, limiting
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The rights, right to freedom of expression has been r ...
, and repressive acts by law enforcement officials in demonstrations. Other policies such as the
Omnibus Law on Job Creation The Job Creation Act (), officially Act Number 11/2020 on Job Creation (''Undang-Undang Nomor 11 Tahun 2020 Tentang Cipta Kerja'', or UU 11/2020), is a bill that was passed on 5 October 2020 by Indonesia's House of Representatives (Indonesia), ...
and the Electronic Information and Transaction Act (UU ITE) also became a topic of this accusation. This was denied by the
PDI-P The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (, PDI-P) is a centre to centre-left secular-nationalist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the ruling and largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 110 seats ...
secretary-general
Hasto Kristiyanto Hasto Kristiyanto (born 7 July 1966) is an Indonesian politician who is serving as the secretary-general of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle since 2014. He previously served as a member of the House of Representatives from 2004 to 200 ...
, who said that the government was taking action against unlawful behavior such as damaging public facilities or spreading fake news so that what the security forces were doing was not a repressive action like the behavior of an authoritarian regime. After the passing of several controversial bills and repressive actions by security forces against large protests since 2019, his government was criticized for "Neo-authoritarianism," which was linked to the New Order regime (Indonesia during Suharto's presidency). ''
South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...
'' even gave him the nickname of "Little Suharto."


Political gaffes

The appearance of Jokowi's name on the National examination questions and Jokowi's arrival on the ITB campus also caused controversy because it was seen as an act of
politicization Politicisation (also politicization; see English spelling differences) is a concept in political science and theory used to explain how ideas, entities or collections of facts are given a political tone or character, and are consequently assigned ...
. He also drew criticism for failing to correctly mention the city of birth of Indonesia's first president
Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...
on 1 June 2015. Jokowi states that Sukarno was born in
Blitar Blitar is a landlocked city in East Java, Indonesia, about 73 km from Malang and 167 km from Surabaya. The area lies within longitude 111° 40' – 112° 09' East and its latitude is 8° 06' South. The city of Blitar lies at an altitude ...
, but historically he was born in Pandean Street, Peneleh,
Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
. Various criticisms were also addressed to his subordinates such as the State Secretariat and the Presidential Communications Team for providing the President with "wrong material." Jokowi again drew strong criticism after signing the Presidential Regulation concerning Increases in Down Payments for Official Cars. Jokowi admitted that he did not know what he signed and revoke the bill. However, it resulted in satirical gags of "''I don't read what I signed''."


Controversial appointments

Jokowi was strongly criticized after appointing HM Prasetyo as
attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
, because HM Prasetyo is considered not to have sufficient experience in the prosecutor's office and is considered to be entrusted to a political party. He was also considered inconsistent because he appointed
Airlangga Hartarto Airlangga Hartarto (born 1 October 1962) is an Indonesian politician and businessman. He is the current Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs (Indonesia), Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs in President Joko Widodo's Onward Indones ...
, General Chairman of
Golkar The Party of Functional Groups (), often known by its abbreviation Golkar, is a Centre politics, centre to Centre-right politics, centre-right big tent secular nationalist political parties in Indonesia, political party in Indonesia. Founded in ...
as Minister of Industry, after initially asking the minister not to hold concurrent positions as a political party administrator. Previously,
Puan Maharani Puan Maharani Nakshatra Kusyala Devi (born 6 September 1973) is an Indonesian politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), who is serving as the current List of Speakers of the People's Representative Council, speaker of t ...
also served as Chair of the PDI-P Central Committee for some time while serving as Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs. Jokowi again attracted widespread controversy and protests from various elements of society when he proposed Commissioner General
Budi Gunawan Tan Sri Budi Gunawan PSM (born 11 December 1959) is an Indonesian police and intelligence figure who currently serves as the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. Budi Gunawan also serves as C ...
to the DPR in mid-January 2015 as the sole candidate for National Police Chief. Budi Gunawan was considered as having a bad record of being a police and was once an aide to former president
Megawati Sukarnoputri Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (; born 23 January 1947) 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 200 ...
which was considered as politics of "returning favor." A day before he was confirmed as a candidate by the DPR, he was named a suspect by the
Corruption Eradication Commission The Corruption Eradication Commission (), abbreviated as KPK, is an Indonesian government agency established to prevent and fight corruption in the country. History Background Anti-corruption efforts began in Indonesia in the 1950s. Followin ...
in the alleged fat bank account case. President Jokowi then decided to postpone his inauguration as National Police Chief until the legal process involving Budi Gunawan was completed and appointed Deputy National Police Chief Commissioner General Badrodin Haiti to carry out the daily duties of National Police Chief. In the end, Badrodin Haiti was officially appointed as National Police Chief by President Jokowi on April 17, 2015, then replaced by
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 ...
, while Budi Gunawan assumed the position of Head of BIN. Because of his decision to not nominate
Budi Gunawan Tan Sri Budi Gunawan PSM (born 11 December 1959) is an Indonesian police and intelligence figure who currently serves as the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. Budi Gunawan also serves as C ...
as a candidate for the Chief of the National police, he was jeered by
PDI-P The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (, PDI-P) is a centre to centre-left secular-nationalist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the ruling and largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 110 seats ...
party cadres.


Accusations of dynastic politics

Jokowi was accused of dynastic politics at the end of his reign. This accusation arose after his eldest son,
Gibran Rakabuming Raka Gibran Rakabuming Raka (born 1 October 1987) is an Indonesian politician and businessman who has been 14th Vice President of Indonesia, vice president of Indonesia since 2024. Previously the 18th mayor of Surakarta from 2021 to 2024, he is the e ...
ran as a vice presidential candidate alongside presidential candidate
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 ...
in the 2024 presidential election, following the Constitutional Court's decision with its chairman
Anwar Usman Anwar Usman (born 31 December 1956) is an Indonesian judge and jurist who served as the sixth Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Indonesia. He was elected to the position on 2 April 2018, replacing Arief Hidayat. Previously, he served ...
who is Jokowi's brother-in-law. Apart from that, this accusation is also increasingly being exaggerated when other Jokowi family such as
Bobby Nasution Muhammad Bobby Afif Nasution (born 5 July 1991) is an Indonesian businessman and politician currently serving as the governor of North Sumatra. He was previously Medan's mayor between 2021 and 2025. He is the son-in-law of former President Joko Wi ...
are planning to take part in the 2024 general election for Governor of North Sumatra,
Kaesang Pangarep Kaesang Pangarep (born 25 December 1994) is an Indonesian politician, entrepreneur, and YouTuber. He is the third and youngest child of former Indonesian president Joko Widodo. In September 2023, he was appointed as chairman of the Indonesian Sol ...
is a potential candidate to replace his older brother Gibran as mayor of Surakarta, as well as Erina Gudono, Kaesang's wife, who is said to be running in the 2024 Sleman Regent general election. Jokowi was also accused of nepotism and undermining "people's sovereignty". ''
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 ...
'' magazine accused Jokowi dynasty politics of destroying democracy in Indonesia. ''Tempo'' also wrote that Jokowi's interference in the
2024 Indonesian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Indonesia on 14 February 2024 with defence minister and former general Prabowo Subianto contesting the elections against the former governor of Jakarta, Anies Baswedan and the former governor of Central Java, G ...
was a form of Jokowi's effort to protect him from legal consequences. This culminated in the
2024 Indonesian local election law protests The 2024 Indonesian local election law protests, also known as Emergency Alert for Indonesia () or Indonesian Democratic Emergency (), were public and student-led Political demonstration, demonstrations against the House of Representatives (Indo ...
after an attempt by the House of Representatives to drafting a bill on regional head elections (''Pilkada'') that contradicts the
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...
's ruling and power. The
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a global network of Investigative journalism, investigative journalists. It was founded in 2006 and specializes in organized crime and corruption. It publishes its stories through ...
(OCCRP) reported Jokowi to be included in their 2024 finalists for Person of the Year in Organized Crime and Corruption, being one of the people who received the most votes that year. OCCRP stated that "civil society groups and experts say that Jokowi's government significantly weakened Indonesia's anti-corruption commission" and that "Jokowi was also widely criticised for undermining Indonesia’s electoral and judicial institutions to benefit the political ambitions of his son, who is now vice-president." Despite all this, the OCCRP announced the deposed Syrian president
Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...
as the winner.


Rumors of interference

On 12 February 2024, investigative journalist
Dandhy Laksono Dandhy Dwi Laksono (born 29 June 1976) is an Indonesian activist, investigative journalist, and filmmaker. He is known for the 2019 documentary film ''Sexy Killers'', released prior to the 2019 Indonesian general election, which documented the coll ...
released a documentary on YouTube directed by him, titled ''Dirty Vote'', alleging that Joko Widodo used state funds to support Prabowo Subianto's campaign, becoming viral within the day and prompting accusations of sabotage by Prabowo's campaign team. The presidential office denied the claims, while protests were held in reaction to the allegations.


Fake news

Jokowi is often a target for
fake news Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person ...
coverages. As he was elected president in the digital age, Jokowi often got hurled by
fake news Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person ...
about himself or his family. These fake news include his parents and him being
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
, non-
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, descendant of
communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
, his daughter-in-law having an affair, sowing discord after the
2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election Gubernatorial elections were held in Jakarta as part of the 2017 Indonesian local elections, 2017 simultaneous elections on 15 February and 19 April 2017 to elect the governor of Jakarta to a five-year term. Incumbent governor Basuki Tjahaja Purn ...
, and many others.


University diploma

Jokowi's university diploma questioned for authenticity. Rismon Hasiholan Sianipar, an alumnus of the Faculty of Technology of
Gajah Mada University Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a Public university, public research university located in Sleman Regency, Sleman, Yogyakarta (special region), Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Ga ...
who believes that his university diploma issued by
Gadjah Mada University Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a public research university located in Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Gadjah Mada University is one of the oldest and largest institut ...
(UGM) in 1985 is fake, is supported by telematics expert Roy Suryo. Roy Suryo, a telematics expert and former Minister of Youth and Sports referred to his old post on 25 February 2020, which contained an attachment to the page of a 1985 graduation book. In the book, there is a photo of the late Hari Mulyono listed under the name ‘Jokowi’. In addition, Roy Suryo also questioned the authenticity of Jokowi's diploma, which has never been proven. In addition, Roy Suryo also highlighted the fonts or letters used in the document. According to him, printing technology in 1985 did not allow the use of fonts seen in Jokowi's diploma and thesis documents. On 15 and 16 April 2025, protests regarding the authenticity of his university diploma took place in Yogyakarta, right at UGM, and Surakarta, right at his residence. On 22 May 2025, after comparing Joko Widodo' university diploma with other diplomas and UGM's university record, Criminal Investigation Agency declared his university diploma authentic.


In popular culture

' is an Indonesian drama film about Jokowi's life. The film starred Ben Joshua, Sylvia Fully, and Agustin Taidy. The film was released on 20 November 2014. However, the broadcast was delayed due to protest of the government's decision to increase the price of fuel. One of his quotes that went popular with the public is the sentence "" (in
Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...
, usually shortened as YNTKTS), which literally means "I don't know. Why are you asking me?" It was first used when Jokowi was the
Governor of Jakarta } The Jakarta Special Region is administratively equal to a Provinces of Indonesia, province with special status as the largest city of Indonesia. Instead of a mayor, the executive head of Jakarta is a governor. The Governor of Jakarta is an elect ...
when he was interviewed by journalists and he tends to answer them with this quote. It was made popular in many social media platforms in the 2020s. In Indonesian internet slang, this quote could be used in a satire or a joke to a problem. A variation of this quote is made by his youngest son
Kaesang Pangarep Kaesang Pangarep (born 25 December 1994) is an Indonesian politician, entrepreneur, and YouTuber. He is the third and youngest child of former Indonesian president Joko Widodo. In September 2023, he was appointed as chairman of the Indonesian Sol ...
when
Najwa Shihab Najwa Shihab (born 16 September 1977) is an Indonesian actress and journalist of mixed Bugis and Arabic descent. She is the second daughter of former Minister of Religious Affairs in the Cabinet of Development VII Quraish Shihab and a niece of ...
in her talkshow asked about Jokowi's hobby of raising
tadpole A tadpole or polliwog (also spelled pollywog) is the Larva, larval stage in the biological life cycle of an amphibian. Most tadpoles are fully Aquatic animal, aquatic, though some species of amphibians have tadpoles that are terrestrial animal, ...
s, in which he replied, "" (usually shortened as YTBJTS), which literally means "Yeah. Ask my dad. Don't ask me."


Awards


National honours

*
Star of the Republic of Indonesia The Star of the Republic of Indonesia () is Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of ...
, 1st Class – 2014 *
Star of Mahaputera Star of Mahaputera (Indonesian language, Indonesian:''Bintang Mahaputera'') is the second highest honorary award awarded by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, one level below the Star of the Republic of Indonesia. This honorary award was ...
, 1st Class – 2014 * Star of Merit, 1st Class – 2011 * Star of Humanity – 2014 * Star of Democracy Upholder, 1st Class – 2014 * Star of Budaya Parama Dharma – 2014 * Star of Bhayangkara, 1st Class – 2014 * Guerilla Star – 2014 * Sacred Star – 2014 * Star of Dharma – 2014 * Star of Yudha Dharma, 1st Class – 2014 * Star of Kartika Eka Paksi, 1st Class – 2014 * Star of Jalasena, 1st Class – 2014 * Star of Swa Bhuwana Paksa, 1st Class – 2014


Foreign honours

* Medal of Ghazi Amanullah – 29 January 2018 * The Most Esteemed Family Order of Brunei (DK) – 7 February 2015 * Sultan of Brunei Golden Jubilee Medal – 6 October 2017 * Grand Collar of the Order of Timor-Leste – 26 January 2016 *
Order of Abdulaziz al Saud The Order of King Abdulaziz (Arabic: وسام الملك عبد العزيز Wisām al-malik ‘Abd al-‘Azīz) is a Saudi Arabian order of merit. The order was named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of the modern Saudi state. History In 1971 ...
– 12 September 2015 * Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim – 22 May 2017 * Collar of the Order of Zayed – 17 July 2024 * Grand Collar Order of the State of Palestine – 19 August 2024


Honorary brevet

''Brevet Hiu Kencana'' (Golden Shark Brevet) – 28 September 2024


Acknowledgments

* 2008: Listed 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 ...
'' as one of the 'Top 10 Indonesian Mayors of 2008'. * 2012: Ranked 3rd at the 2012
World Mayor World Mayor is a biennial award organized by the City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of c ...
Prize for "transforming a crime-ridden city into a regional centre for art and culture and an attractive city to tourists". * 2013: Listed as one of "The Leading Global Thinkers of 2013" in ''
Foreign Policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
'' magazine. In February 2013, he was nominated as the global mayor of the month by the City Mayors Foundation, based in London. * 2014: Listed by ''
Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...
'' as one of "The World's 50 Greatest Leaders". * 2016–2017, 2024: List by "The Muslim 500" as one of the most influential Muslims in the world, which ranked 11 in 2016 and 13 both in 2017 and 2024. * 2022: Received "Certificate of Acknowledgement" from ''International Rice Research Institute''. IRRI has recognized Indonesia's resilient agricultural and food systems and rice self-sufficiency in 2019-2021. * 2022: Received "Imam Hasan ibn Ali Peace Prize" from ''
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
Forum for Peace''. * 2022: Received " Global Citizen Awards" from ''Atlantic Council''. The Global Citizen Award is an award for figures who are considered to have made great contributions to overcoming poverty, climate change and equality. * 2024: Received the award as the "Father of Indonesian Construction". The award was given by the ''Indonesian National Construction Implementation Association (Gapensi)''. * 2024: Received "FAO Agricola Medal" from ''Food and Agriculture Organization'' for making great progress in transforming Indonesia's agrifood system within the context of sustained economic growth, even in the face of global challenges and uncertainties, including the COVID-19 pandemic.


Customary titles

* 2014: Received the title "Ki Jaka Winata". This title was given by the traditional community of
Garut Garut is a district and town in West Java of Indonesia, and the former capital of Garut Regency. It is located about 75 km to the southeast of the major city of Bandung. History The modern history of Garut started on 2 March 1811 when the B ...
,
West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...
. * 2015: Received the customary title "Biji Nagara Madafalo" or Yang Dipertuan Agung Anak Negara from the
Sultanate of Tidore The Sultanate of Tidore (Jawi script, Jawi: ; sometimes ) was a sultanate in Southeast Asia, centered on Tidore in the Maluku Islands (presently in North Maluku, Indonesia). It was also known as Duko, its ruler carrying the title Kië ma-kolano ( ...
,
North Maluku North Maluku (; ) is a province of Indonesia. It covers the northern part of the Maluku Islands, bordering the Pacific Ocean to the north, the Halmahera Sea to the east, the Molucca Sea to the west, and the Seram Sea to the south. It shares marit ...
. * 2017: Received the honorary customary title "Upu Kalatia Kenalean Da Ntul Po Deyo Routnya Hnulho Maluku" from the people of
Maluku Maluku may refer to: Places * Maluku Islands, an archipelago that is part of Indonesia ** List of the Maluku Islands * Maluku (province), a province of Indonesia comprising the central and southern parts of the archipelago * North Maluku, a provin ...
because he was considered a great leader who cared deeply about the welfare of the people's lives. * 2017: Awarded the customary title "Kapiteng Lau Pulo" from the Tanah Bumbu Customary Institution,
South Kalimantan South Kalimantan () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is the second most populous province on the island of Kalimantan, the Indonesian territory of the island of Borneo after West Kalimantan. The provincial capital was Banjar ...
. * 2018: Given the customary name "Kambepit" with the title "Panglima Perang Adat Asmat" from the
Asmat People The Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the province of South Papua, Indonesia. The Asmat inhabit a region on the island's southwestern coast bordering the Arafura Sea, with lands totaling approximately 18,000 km2 (7,336&n ...
. * 2018: Received customary title "Tuanku Sri Indera Utama Junjungan Negeri" from
Sultanate of Deli The Sultanate of Deli ( Indonesian: ''Kesultanan Deli Darul Maimoon''; Jawi: ) was a 1,820 km2 Malay state in east Sumatra founded in 1632 when a commander of the Aceh Sultanate, Gocah Pahlawan, conquered the area during the reign of Is ...
. * 2018: Received the award as "Pinisepuh" of the Pasundan Association. * 2018: Received customary title "Rajo Balaq Mangku Nagara" from
Komering people The Komering (; Komering: ''Jolma Kumoring'') are an ethnic group that inhabits along the Komering River in South Sumatra province. The Komering tribe is a Lampungic ethnic group originating from Kepaksian Sekala Brak in Lampung. There are aro ...
,
South Sumatra South Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the southeast of the island of Sumatra. The capital and largest city of the province is the city of Palembang. The province borders the provinces of Jambi to the north ...
. * 2018: Received customary title "Datuk Seri Setia Amanah Negara" from
Riau Riau (Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the central eastern coast of the island of Sumatra, and extends from the eastern slopes of the Barisan Mountains to the Malacca Strait, including s ...
Malay Customary Institution. * 2019: Received the title "Derayen Acang Aco" from the traditional figure of Dayak Laundayeh in the Krayan region. Derayen Acang Aco means a great leader who is able to do and exert all efforts for the progress, welfare, and prosperity of his people. * 2022: Received the customary title "Mosalaki Ulu Beu Eko Bewa" from the Ende Community, which means leader of the entire Indonesian region from Sabang to
Merauke Merauke is a large town (''kelurahan'') and an administrative district (''distrik'') in Merauke Regency of South Papua Province, Indonesia. It is also the administrative centre of Merauke Regency, and is considered to be the easternmost city in I ...
. * 2022: Awarded the Customary Honorary Title of the
Sultanate of Buton The Sultanate of Buton was an indigenous sultanate in what is today Indonesia. It used to rule over Buton island and adjacent areas within present-day Southeast Sulawesi province. It was a constitutional monarchy with its own written constitution ...
"La Ode Muhammad Lakina Bhawaangi yi Nusantara". * 2022: Crowned as Prince of the
Sultanate of Ternate The Sultanate of Ternate ( Jawi: ), previously also known as the Kingdom of Gapi, is one of the oldest Muslim kingdoms in Indonesia besides the sultanates of Tidore, Jailolo, and Bacan. The Ternate kingdom was established by Momole Cico, ...
with the title "Kaitjil". Kaitjil was the prince or first line of the
Sultan of Ternate This is a list of rulers of Maluku from proto-historical times until the present. The four sultanates of Sultanate of Ternate, Ternate, Sultanate of Tidore, Tidore, Sultanate of Jailolo, Jailolo, and Sultanate of Bacan, Bacan were considered desce ...
. * 2022: Awarded the title "Dada Madopo Malomo" by the
Sultan of Ternate This is a list of rulers of Maluku from proto-historical times until the present. The four sultanates of Sultanate of Ternate, Ternate, Sultanate of Tidore, Tidore, Sultanate of Jailolo, Jailolo, and Sultanate of Bacan, Bacan were considered desce ...
which means great leader. * 2023: Received a customary title from the Dayak tribe while visiting West Kutai,
East Kalimantan East Kalimantan (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo/Kalimantan. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census (within the cu ...
. The customary title received was "Ajiq Tatau Narakng Bulau, Penimakng Sookng Matiiq, Penerajuuq Bawe Ayaakng". The title has the meaning of having the right and authority to form and determine the best sons and daughters of the nation to carry out tasks aimed at peace and prosperity. * 2023: Received customary title "Marambe Ambaralla Palunglaa Porodisa" from
Talaud The Talaud Islands Regency () is a regency of North Sulawesi province, Indonesia. The Talaud Islands form an archipelago situated to the northeast of the Minahasa Peninsula, with a land area of 1,251.02 km2. It had a population of 83,434 at the 2 ...
Customary Council.


Named after him

* JKW Reservoir in Nusantara Capital City. * Jokowi Alley in Gunungpati District, Semarang City,
Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...
. * Jokowi Alley in Kelimutu Subdistrict, Ende Tengah District, Ende Lio Regency,
East Nusa Tenggara East Nusa Tenggara (; ) is the southernmost province of Indonesia. It comprises the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, facing the Indian Ocean in the south and the Flores Sea in the north, with a total land area of 47,238.07 km2. It cons ...
. * Jokowi Bridge in
Magelang Regency Magelang () is a regency in Central Java, Indonesia, famous for its 9th century Buddhist temple of Borobudur. Its capital is Mungkid. It covers an area of 1,129.98 km2 and had a population of 1,181,723 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statist ...
, Central Java. * Jokowi Bridge in Sragen Regency, Central Java. * Jokowi Learning Center Building at Kebangsaan Senior High School,
South Lampung Regency South Lampung Regency () is a Regencies of Indonesia, regency of Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia, a strip of land surrounding the provincial capital of Bandar Lampung on its northern and eastern sides. The regency is bounded to the west by the new Pes ...
,
Lampung Lampung, officially the Province of Lampung (; ), is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the southern tip of the island of Sumatra. It has a short border with the province of Bengkulu to the northwest, and a longer border with the provi ...
. * Joko Widodo Building at
Nahdlatul Ulama Nahdlatul Ulama (, , NU) is an Islamic organization in Indonesia. Its membership numbered over 40 million in 2023, making it the largest Islamic organization in the world. NU is also a charitable body funding schools and hospitals as well as or ...
University
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...
. * Jokowi Hill at the Mandalika Circuit,
Central Lombok Regency Central Lombok Regency is a regency () of the Indonesian Province of West Nusa Tenggara. It is located on the island of Lombok and the capital is Praya. It covers a land area of 1,168.13 km2, and had a population of 859,309 at the 2010 cens ...
,
West Nusa Tenggara West Nusa Tenggara ( – NTB) is a provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It comprises the western portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, with the exception of Bali which is its own province. The area of this province is which consists of ...
. * Jokowi Hill in
Jayapura City Jayapura (formerly Hollandia (1910-1962), Kota Baru (1962-1963), Soekarnopura (1963-1968)) is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of Papua. It is situated on the northern coast of New Guinea island and covers an area of . T ...
, Papua. * President Joko Widodo Mosque in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
,
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. * President Joko Widodo Street in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.


Statues

* Jokowi Wax Statue at Madame Tussauds Museum in
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a Special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the List of ...
of the China, People's Republic of China. * Juma Jokowi in Kutambelin Village, Karo Regency,
North Sumatra North Sumatra () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It borders Aceh to the northwest, Riau to the sou ...
. * Speed Jokowi at the Mandalika Circuit, Central Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara.


References


Further reading

* Majeed, Rushda (2012)
"The City With a Short Fuse."
''Foreign Policy''. September. * Majeed, Rushda (2012)
"Defusing a Volatile City, Igniting Reforms: Joko Widodo and Surakarta, Indonesia, 2005–2011."
Innovations for Successful Societies. Princeton University. Published July. * McCawley, Peter (2014)
''Joko Widodo's Indonesia: Possible future paths''
Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra.


External links


The 'Jokowi Effect' Could Be the Most Important Thing in Indonesia's Elections

The key to understanding Indonesia's upcoming elections? The Jokowi Effect
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Joko Widodo Joko Widodo, 1961 births Gadjah Mada University alumni Governors of Jakarta Indonesian businesspeople Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle politicians Indonesian Muslims Javanese people Living people Mayors of Surakarta People from Surakarta Politicians from Central Java Presidents of Indonesia 20th-century Indonesian engineers 21st-century Indonesian engineers 21st-century Indonesian businesspeople 20th-century Indonesian politicians 21st-century Indonesian politicians 21st-century mayors of places in Indonesia Joko Widodo family