Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and retired military officer who has served as the eighth president of Indonesia since 2024. He previously served as the 26th minister of defence under President Joko Widodo from 2019 to 2024. Prabowo is Indonesia's third president to have a military background after Suharto and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and is the oldest first-term president in Indonesian history. Prabowo graduated from the Indonesian Military Academy in 1970 and primarily served in the Special Forces (Kopassus) until he was appointed to lead the Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) in 1998. Later that same year, he was discharged from the military and subsequently banned from entering the United States for allegedly committing human rights abuses. In early 2008, Prabowo's inner circle established the Gerindra Party. In the 2009 presidential election, he ran unsuccessfully for the vice presidency as Megawati Sukarnoputri's running mate. He contested the 2014 presidential election and was defeated by Jakarta governor Joko Widodo, which he initially disputed. He made another unsuccessful run for the presidency in 2019 against Joko Widodo, with Sandiaga Uno as his running mate and with the support of Gerindra, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Democratic Party (Demokrat), and Berkarya Party. His refusal to accept the result saw his followers stage protests that sparked riots in Jakarta. However, after a heated contest, Prabowo joined Joko Widodo's cabinet as his minister of defence for the 2019 to 2024 period. On 10 October 2021, Gerindra announced Prabowo as their candidate in the 2024 presidential election. On 12 August 2022, Prabowo announced that he accepted Gerindra's nomination. Prabowo declared victory in the election on 14 February 2024, as early unofficial polling showed him with a lead in the first round of voting. On 20 March, the General Election Commission (KPU) certified the results and declared him as the president-elect of Indonesia. The Constitutional Court (MK) confirmed his status on 22 April 2024. Prabowo was sworn in as the 8th president of Indonesia on 20 October 2024.
Early life and family
Prabowo's father, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo (1917–2001), was originally from Gombong, Kebumen. He was an economist who served as former President Sukarno's minister for the economy and Suharto's minister for research and technology. Sumitro named Prabowo after his own younger brother who was killed in an incident against Japanese forces in Lengkong, Tangerang during the Indonesian National Revolution. Prabowo's mother, Dora Marie Sigar (1919–2008), was a Protestant Christian of Minahasan and German descent, who originated from the Sigar-Maengkom family in Langowan, North Sulawesi. Her father was a member of the Volksraad of the Dutch East Indies. They were married in Matraman, East Jakarta. Prabowo has two older sisters, Bianti Djojohadikusumo, who was born in 1946 and Maryani Djojohadikusumo, who was born in 1948. His only brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, was born in 1953. Prabowo's eldest sister, Bianti, is married to J. Soedradjad Djiwandono, Governor of Bank Indonesia from 1993 until 1998, whilst her sister, Maryani, was married to a French expatriate entrepreneur, Didier Lemaistre who died in 2018. Prabowo's brother, Hashim, is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Indonesia with assets across the globe from Indonesia to Europe and North America. Due to his father's political exile borne from differences with Sukarno in the 1960s, they lived in self-exile, notably in countries such as Switzerland, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom. During his high school years, he studied at Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Between 1966 and 1968, the family lived in London, where Prabowo attended and graduated from the American School. Sumitro subsequently encouraged his son to attend a military academy. According to peers and observers, Prabowo was strategic and had an appetite for political power. Sumitro himself came from a political background. His father, Margono Djojohadikusumo, was the founder of the country's first state bank Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), the first leader of Indonesia's provisional Supreme Advisory Council (DPA), and a member of the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence (BPUPK) that drafted the steps for Indonesia's independence. Prabowo is the third generation of a family that has served political positions in Indonesia since its independence in 1945. Prabowo and Titiek have a son, Didit Hediprasetyo, who lived in Boston before settling in Paris to pursue a career in fashion design. While his son has shown little interest in politics, Prabowo is an uncle to Gerindra politicians Thomas Djiwandono, Budi Djiwandono, Aryo Djojohadikusumo, and Rahayu Djojohadikusumo, who will together continue the Djojohadikusumo political lineage.
Military career
Military academy and service
Prabowo enrolled in the Indonesian Military Academy (Akademi Militer Nasional) in Magelang in 1970. He graduated in 1974 with others who would gain senior leadership positions, such as Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. In 1976, Prabowo served in the Indonesian Army Special Forces Command (Kopassus) and was assigned as the commander of Group 1 Komando Pasukan Sandhi Yudha (Kopassandha), which was one of the Indonesian Army's Nanggala commando units in East Timor, the former Portuguese territory that Indonesia had invaded the previous year. Prabowo, then 26 years old, was the youngest Nanggala commander. Prabowo led the mission to capture the vice president of Fretilin, who was the first prime minister of East Timor, Nicolau dos Reis Lobato. Guiding Prabowo was Antonio Lobato – Nicolau's younger brother. On 31 December 1978, Prabowo's company found and fatally shot Nicolau in the stomach as he was being escorted in Maubisse, fifty kilometres south of Dili. In 1981, Captain Inf. Prabowo with Major Inf. Luhut Binsar Panjaitan was sent by the TNI to attend Anti-terror Training in GSG-9 Germany, and after graduate from the course, TNI forming the first anti-terror unit in Indonesia, the Detasemen 81 Anti Teror under the Kopassus, with Luhut as the detachment commander and Prabowo as the vice-commander. In 1983, sources say that Prabowo commanded the special forces responsible for the Kraras massacres in East Timor. The survivors of these massacres were locked up in a concentration camp guarded by Prabowo's men, where many died of starvation and ill-treatment. Prabowo claimed he was nowhere near the Viqueque district when the massacre happened, and neither the UN nor the government of Timor Leste have ever proffered charges of human rights violations against him. Jose Manuel Tesoro, writing for Asiaweek in 2000, contacted four separate non-governmental organisations including TAPOL in London; Solidamor in Jakarta; the HAK Foundation, headquartered in Dili; and the East Timor Action Network (ETAN) in New York, and they could not provide any eyewitness reports, transcripts of intercepted communications, leaked papers, or anything that could substantiate Prabowo's involvement.
In 1985 Prabowo attended the Advanced Infantry Officers Course at Fort Bragg, in the United States for commando training. In the early 1990s, as the commander of Kopassus Group 3, the now Major General Prabowo attempted to crush the East Timorese independence movement by using irregular troops (hooded "ninja" gangs dressed in black and operating at night) and, in main towns and villages, militias trained and directed by Kopassus commanders. Human rights abuses rose. The Army's 1997 campaign was called Operation Eradicate.
In 1996, Prabowo led Operation Mapenduma in the mountainous terrain of Papua. The goal of the operation was the release of 11 scientific researchers who had been taken hostage by the Free Papua Movement (OPM). The researchers were five Indonesians, four Britons, one Dutchman and his pregnant German wife. Two of the Indonesian male hostages were killed shortly before the rescue operation. The mission involved covert support from British Military Attaché and SAS veteran Colonel Ivor Helberg. Following the hostage transfer, Kopassus under Prabowo began a reprisal campaign against villages perceived to support OPM, and, in one incident at Geselema village, attacking the villagers with a military helicopter disguised as a Red Cross helicopter. On 20 March 1998, Prabowo was appointed head of the 27,000-strong Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad), that Suharto had commanded in 1965. During his military career, he received the nicknames "08" and "Pandu" (lit. 'Scout') from the Kopassus and the Kostrad, respectively.
Role in the fall of Suharto
Less than three months after his appointment as head of Kostrad, on the first day of the May 1998 riots, Prabowo urged the commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces (ABRI), General Wiranto, to let him bring his Strategic Reserve units from outside Jakarta into the city to help restore order. Hundreds of men trained by Kopassus (Prabowo's former command) were flown from Dili to Yogyakarta in chartered planes, and then on to Jakarta by train. Prabowo publicly urged Indonesians to join him to fight "traitors to the nation". On the morning of 14 May, Kopassus troops escorted young thugs from Lampung in southern Sumatra into the capital. Thus Prabowo was accused of using his contacts in his former command to import and create trouble, while Wiranto had declined to give Prabowo's current command, Kostrad, permission to quell the existing trouble, in line with classic Javanese tactic to stir chaos to discredit a rival and/or seize power. Troops under Prabowo's command kidnapped and tortured at least nine democracy activists in the months before the May 1998 riots. In one testimony from Andi Arief, a former detainee told of being tortured for days in an unidentified location, allegedly a military camp where most of their time was spent blindfolded, while being forced to answer repeated questions, mainly concerning their political activities. The abuse included being punched, terrorised physically and mentally, and given electric shocks. Later, in 2009, two of the nine men were candidates for Gerindra, Prabowo's political party, and another served as his media adviser. By 2024, six out of the nine kidnapped (including Arief) have either worked for Prabowo, or backed him for the presidency. Prabowo was also suspected of organising the kidnappings of another 13 activists (all of whom remain "missing") between February 1997 and May 1998. Later investigations into the May riots revealed that violence in Jakarta was the result of an internal struggle within the military elite to become Suharto's successor. Many believed Prabowo, as Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) commander, sought to become his father-in-law's successor and coveted the commander of the Armed Forces position held by General Wiranto, who was favoured to succeed Suharto. Together with Operations Commander for Greater Jakarta (Panglima Komando Operasi Jakarta Raya, Pangkoops Jaya) Major General Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Prabowo aimed to terrorise opponents of the government and to show that Wiranto was "an incompetent commander who could not control disorder". During August and September, the fact-finding team interviewed Prabowo, Sjafrie, and other military commanders regarding their movements during the Jakarta riots. Prabowo asserted that he was unsure of the precise movements of military forces in the capital and deferred to Sjafrie. In its final report, the fact-finding team suspected that, on the night of 14 May, Prabowo met with several Armed Forces and prominent civilian figures at the Kostrad headquarters to discuss the organisation of the violence. However, this was later refuted by several people who attended the meeting, including prominent human rights lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution and Joint Fact-Finding Team member, Bambang Widjojanto. Further testimonies by Prabowo in the years following the investigation contradicted the team's report and led to scepticism of the team's allegations.
Dismissal from the military
On 21 May 1998, Suharto announced his resignation from the presidency and Vice President B. J. Habibie took over as president. On the afternoon following Habibie's inauguration as president, Prabowo demanded of Habibie that he be put in charge of the army in place of Wiranto. However, Habibie and Wiranto actually dismissed Prabowo from his position as Kostrad commander, and the following day, announced Wiranto's appointment as minister of defence and security as well as commander of the Indonesian Army, which resulted in Prabowo's dismissal. There were two versions of how this happened: the first version states that a furious Prabowo went to the Presidential Palace carrying a gun and a truck with his Kostrad troops. Because he was prevented from entering Habibie's office, he went to Suharto, who instead reprimanded him. Meanwhile, another version states that Prabowo was dismissed from his post because he was suspected of carrying out a coup against Habibie. It is said that after Habibie's inauguration, Wiranto reported that there was movement from Kostrad troops appearing around Habibie's residence. Habibie then ordered Prabowo to be dismissed from his post just before sunset in that day. However, Prabowo was later visited by Wiranto at his home on the weekend of 23 or 24 May and then reassigned to a non-combat role at the Armed Forces Command and General Staff College in Bandung. Following an ABRI investigation in August 1998, the Dewan Kehormatan Perwira (Officers Council of Honour) found Prabowo guilty of "misinterpreting orders" in the kidnapping of nine anti-Suharto activists in 1998. Prabowo acknowledged responsibility for the kidnapping of the nine activists, and was discharged honourably from military service in November. He and Wiranto denied that the discharge was a result of disciplinary action. Later he went into voluntary exile in Jordan where he knew that country's new young King Abdullah as a fellow commander of special forces. In an interview with Asiaweek magazine in 2000, Prabowo said "I never threatened Habibie. I was not behind the riots. That is a great lie. I never betrayed Suharto. I never betrayed Habibie. I never betrayed my country. There was a certain group that wanted to make me a scapegoat, maybe to hide their involvement." Human rights groups have long questioned Prabowo's eligibility to run for president, noting that he was discharged from the Army in August 1998 for "misinterpreting orders" in the abduction of the democracy activists. While that was the military's official statement, observers have long believed that it was a coup conspiracy that saw Prabowo, then the commander of the Army Strategic Reserves, given his marching orders. As a 2014 presidential candidate, Prabowo's past came under renewed scrutiny, with many organisations calling for him to step down. On 19 April, he was criticised by a poet made by Fahmi Habcyi which linked him to the disappearance of Widji Thukul and urged him to return Thukul as his wife is devastated hoping for her husband to return. A coalition, which consisted of Imparsial, Kontras, the Setara Institute, and the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), combined under the Civil Society Coalition Against Forgetting, visited the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) in Jakarta on 7 May 2014 to urge the commission to re-investigate Prabowo. A 27 June 2014 report indicated that an investigative journalist, Allan Nairn, had been threatened with arrest "for revealing the former general's role in human rights abuses." During the 2024 presidential debate on 12 December 2023, Prabowo admitted implicitly that he had Budiman Sudjatmiko kidnapped, a violation of human rights, later Sudjatmiko had become one of his spokesperson. Prior to the debate, Prabowo also admitted to Sudjatmiko, that he had released all activists he had kidnapped but didn't know of their later fates after released. Explaining his decision, Budiman claimed people changed after 25 years, both him and Prabowo "moved to the middle." Maria Catarina Sumarsih, whose son was shot dead during the Semanggi shootings on 13 November 1998, said that Prabowo was responsible for the tragedy.
== Business career == After being discharged from the military, Prabowo joined his brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo's business. He purchased Kiani Kertas, a paper pulp and plantation company based in Mangkajang, East Kalimantan. Prior to Prabowo's purchase, Kiani was owned by Bob Hasan, a businessman close to former President Suharto. Today, Prabowo's Nusantara Group controls 27 companies in Indonesia and abroad. Prabowo's companies include Nusantara Energy (oil and natural gas, coal), Tidar Kerinci Agung (palm oil plantations) and Jaladri Nusantara (fishery industry). Prabowo rebranded Kiani Kertas to Kertas Nusantara. The company was established in 1990 and is part of the Nusantara Energy. It controls an area of 3,400 hectares (8,400 acres) used for paper mills, employee housing, private schools, and various company facilities. Kiani has been awarded ISO 900–2005 status as one of the highest quality management companies. It is reported that Kiani Kertas has been experiencing financial difficulties, and in early 2014, workers took to the streets to demand their wages which had not been paid in five months. Prabowo was the wealthiest presidential candidate in the 2009 election, with assets of Rp 1.5 trillion (about US$150 million) and US$7.5 million. In 2007, PT Ridlatama, whose majority stakeholder was British-based Churchill PLC, conducted a geo-survey of eastern Kalimantan for coal. Two months after the survey yielded positive results, East Kutai officials granted mining licenses to Nusantara Energy (a subsidiary of the Nusantara Group, a conglomerate owned by Prabowo's family) to operate in the area surveyed by Ridlatama. In 2010, Ridlatama's license was revoked, effectively completing Nusantara's take over of Churchill's operations. Churchill appealed to the Supreme Court of Indonesia but lost the case. In 2012, Churchill filed a case against the government of Indonesia at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, demanding US$2 billion in compensation. Indonesia argued that ICSID had no authority to arbitrate. In 2014, ICSID ruled that it had the authority and the case is still ongoing. In 2014, the regent of East Kutai, Isran Noor, publicly endorsed Prabowo as a presidential candidate. He also considered pressing criminal charges against Churchill, alleging that Churchill forged its license.
Advocacy career
=== Farmers' rights (HKTI) === The Indonesian Farmers' Association (HKTI) was established in 1973 to advocate for the farmers' rights. Prabowo was elected President of HKTI on 5 December 2004, and he was reappointed in 2010 for a second term.
=== Market traders (APPSI) === The Indonesian Traditional Market Traders Association (APPSI) is a non-profit organisation advocating for the welfare of traders in Indonesia's traditional markets. Prabowo was elected as president of APPSI in 2008. As a chairman of the organisation, Prabowo often calls for the government to limit hypermarkets by regulating their distances so as not to harm small traders. "So far, traditional market traders have always been ignored, so that when a modern market was established, the capital owners of the market traders had to be willing to be disbanded due to demolition," said Prabowo.
Pencak silat and the IPSI
Pencak silat is one of Indonesia's traditional martial arts. The Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI) oversees the regulation of the sport in Indonesia, develops athletes, and organises tournaments. Prabowo was elected as president of the IPSI in 2004 and was re-elected in 2012 for a third consecutive term. At the 2011 SEA Games in Jakarta, pencak silat won the overall championship by winning 9 of the 18 events competed. The IPSI's achievements under Prabowo's chairmanship were noted at the 2018 Asian Games, where pencak silat succeeded in contributing to 14 of the 31 gold medals won by the Indonesian contingent. Prabowo is also the president of the International Pencak Silat Federation (IPSF).
=== Migrant workers === The Indonesian Advocacy Service for Justice and Peace (Padma) in the East Nusa Tenggara region assessed that Prabowo played a major role in the release of Wilfrida Soik from the death penalty at the Kota Bahru Court, Kelantan, Malaysia. Prabowo appointed Malaysian lawyer Tan Sri Mohammad Syafei to defend Wilfrida Soik. Wilfrida is a worker from East Nusa Tenggara who was sent illegally. Wilfrida was sentenced to death for killing her employer, Yeap Seok Pen, on 7 December 2010.
== Early political career == Using his connections to President Suharto, Prabowo and his brother worked to silence journalistic and political critics in the 1990s. Hashim unsuccessfully pressured Goenawan Mohamad to sell his outspoken and banned Tempo magazine to him. As a lieutenant colonel, Prabowo invited Abdurrahman Wahid to his battalion headquarters in 1992 and warned him to stick to religion and to stay out of politics, or face unspecified actions if he continued to oppose the president. He later warned the intellectual Nurcholish Madjid (Cak Nur) to resign from the KIPP, the election monitoring unit set up by Goenawan Mohamad, which armed forces commander Feisal Tanjung had denounced as "obviously unconstitutional."
=== Golkar Party convention === In 2004, Prabowo was one of five contenders in the 2004 Golkar Party National Convention vying to become Golkar party's presidential candidate. He received the lowest number of votes, just 39, and was eliminated in the first round. The second round of voting was won by Wiranto. After finishing last in the party convention, Prabowo served as a member of the Golkar Advisory Council until his resignation on 12 July 2008.
=== Gerindra Party === In February 2008, Prabowo's inner circle, including Fadli Zon, Muchdi Purwopranjono, and Prabowo's younger brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo, along with a few others established the Gerindra Party. Prabowo served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Central Leadership Council (DPP). He was later appointed general chairman of the party after the death of the party's previous chairman Suhardi in 2014.
Vice-presidential candidacy
In May 2009, Gerindra nominated Prabowo for the presidency in the 2009 elections. However, having won 26 out of 560 seats in the Indonesian parliament, the party did not have the required numbers, and Prabowo ran as a vice-presidential candidate to Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of Indonesia's first president Sukarno. Prabowo and Megawati signed the Batu Tulis Agreement, which stated that:
PDI-P and Gerindra nominated Megawati as presidential candidate and Prabowo as vice-presidential candidate in the 2009 elections. If elected, Prabowo can control Indonesia's economic programs and policies which are "based on the principles of standing on one's own feet, being sovereign in the political field, and having a national personality in the cultural field within the framework of a presidential system" Prabowo can determine who will be Minister of Forestry, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Finance, Minister of State Owned Enterprises, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Minister of Industry, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration, Minister of Law and Human Rights, and Minister of Defence. The government that is formed will support the PDI-P's people's program and the Gerindra's eight action programs for the prosperity of the people. Funding for the 2009 elections will be covered 50% by Megawati and 50% by Prabowo. Megawati shall back Prabowo as 2014 presidential election candidate. The pair, referred to colloquially by the Indonesian media as Mega–Pro, earned 27% of the vote and lost to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his running mate, economist Boediono. The results of the KPU's manual calculation, which were announced on 25 July 2009, were not much different from the results of the quick count. Megawati and Prabowo were absent at the announcement of the official tally even though Law No. 42 of 2008 concerning Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections mandated each pair of candidates to be present in determining the official results of the presidential election.
Presidential candidacies
2014 general election
In November 2011, Prabowo announced his intention to run in the 2014 presidential election. Surveys published by the Center for Policy Studies and Strategic Development (Puskaptis) and by the Indonesian Survey Institute published on 23 February 2012 gave him the lead – but observers and activists cast doubt on the polls. In March 2012, Gerindra named Prabowo its 2014 presidential candidate. The party's slogan was then changed to Gerindra Menang Prabowo Presiden (Gerindra Wins, Prabowo Becomes President). Prabowo said he would run an investment-friendly administration if he won and that Indonesia needed more energy exploration. Furthermore, he said he had been in close contact with labour unions and believed rising worker discontent could be managed with a wise national budget. He promised to use military-style efficiency to push through chronically delayed infrastructure projects, as well as to create jobs in the archipelago's backwaters by improving agricultural productivity. Another pillar to Prabowo's platform was that he was solidly secular, and his party planned to protect the rights of minority religious groups in the Muslim-majority country. According to numerous quick counts after the 9 April legislative election, Gerinda came in third place, positioning Prabowo as one of two leading presidential candidates for the election to be held 9 July, the other being Jakarta governor, Joko Widodo. On Tuesday, 20 May 2014, Golkar, along with the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), and the Crescent Star Party (PBB), officially endorsed Prabowo to run for the 2014 presidential election; the coalition collected 48.9% of votes and 52.1 seats in the parliament. The day before, Prabowo had picked former Coordinating Minister for Economics Hatta Rajasa as his vice-presidential running mate. On 22 July 2014, the day that the KPU was due to announce its official tally, Prabowo withdrew from the race after having insisted on his victory since the initial quick counts were released, although the majority showed Jokowi ahead. He attributed this withdrawal to Indonesia "failing in its duty to democracy" because of "massive cheating that is structured and systematic," and stated that he and Hatta "exercise our constitutional right to reject the presidential election and declare it unconstitutional". His speech, aired live, implied he would challenge the results in the Constitutional Court. Later reports indicated confusion over whether Prabowo had resigned from the election or simply rejected the count. According to Douglas Ramage of the Jakarta-based Bower's Asia Group, this was the first time since Reformasi began in 1998 that the legitimacy of an election was questioned; he declared the country was entering "uncharted territory." The legality of a Prabowo challenge is questionable, as – if he withdrew – he is no longer considered a presidential candidate. If he can make the challenge, according to The Jakarta Post, the gap between the two is sufficient to make such a challenge difficult. Under the presidential election law, Prabowo could face up to six years in prison and a 100 billion rupiah (US$10 million) fine for withdrawing. Later that evening, Joko Widodo was officially announced as president and began to receive congratulations from world leaders. Following the announcement, the value of the Indonesian rupiah dropped by 0.3%, and the JSX Composite fell by 0.9%. Observers denied Prabowo's allegations of cheating, finding that the elections were "generally fair and free;" Maswadi Rauf of the University of Indonesia stated that there was "no sign of significant fraud," and that Prabowo's withdrawal simply reflected "the real attitudes of the elite, who are not yet ready to accept losing." On 21 August 2014, the Indonesian Constitutional Court rejected his claim of fraud, confirming his election loss.
2019 general election
On 12 April 2018, Prabowo announced he would contest the 2019 presidential election if he could obtain sufficient support from other political parties. Indonesian media had speculated on whether Prabowo would become a presidential candidate or a "king-maker" giving his support to another candidate. Prabowo's brother Hashim in March 2018 said health and logistical factors had to be considered before the party announces a presidential candidate. In April 2018, John McBeth reported Maritime Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan had held a series of meetings with Prabowo, culminating in the proposal of a joint Jokowi-Prabowo ticket for the 2019 election. Luhut reportedly lost his enthusiasm after Prabowo allegedly said he would want to be in charge of the military and seven seats in any new cabinet. Fadli Zon denied Luhut and Prabowo had discussed politics, claiming they merely spoke about Europe's move to limit imports of Indonesian palm oil. Gerindra official Andre Rosiade also dismissed the report as a hoax.
On 10 August 2018, Prabowo registered at the KPU office for the 2019 presidential election with Sandiaga Uno as his running mate and with the support of Gerindra, PKS, PAN, the Democratic Party and Berkarya Party. The Democratic Party had wanted Prabowo to choose Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono as his running mate. Following the election, 'quick counts' conducted at polling stations by independent institutions authorised by the government indicated Jokowi had won by a margin of about 10%, but Prabowo claimed victory, insisting a real count by his side showed he received 62% of the vote. His unsubstantiated claims of widespread cheating prompted his supporters to stage protests in Jakarta, resulting in riots that left eight people dead and 737 injured. The Constitutional Court in June 2019 unanimously rejected Prabowo's appeal against the election result. On 14 July 2019, Prabowo finally conceded to Jokowi in a train ride at Jakarta MRT, congratulated Jokowi and apologised for criticising him during the campaign trail much to the criticism of his upset supporters who expressed that Prabowo should remain as part of the opposition. His own party Gerindra eventually joined Jokowi's Onward Indonesia Coalition on 21 October 2019 with Prabowo himself appointed Minister of Defence on 23 October 2019, therefore joining Jokowi's cabinet.
2024 general election
On 7 January 2023, Prabowo launched his third presidential campaign for the 2024 presidential election. He is running as president, together with Gibran Rakabuming Raka (the eldest son of Joko Widodo, the former President of Indonesia), as his vice-presidential candidate. Both he and Gibran registered at the KPU office on 25 October 2023 with the support of Gerindra, Golkar, PAN, PBB, the Democratic Party, Gelora Party, Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) and Garuda Party. Both he and Gibran's candidacies were challenged in the Constitutional Court due to age requirements. In Prabowo's case, a lawsuit was filed against him due to his old age (Prabowo was 71 at the time of announcing his candidacy) and having announced his candidacy for the third time. The Supreme Court ruled to reject the lawsuit. In November 2023, Prabowo called for "rebalancing" where, in the past decades, Indonesia looked to the West; now they should learn from the East like China, India, Japan and South Korea. Prabowo entertained the idea of Indonesia joining BRICS if it is advantageous for Indonesia's economy, citing BRICS' nature as an economic bloc, not a geopolitical one. On 14 February 2024, in an unofficial report, Prabowo succeeded in leading three voting lines by getting 58% of the vote. Prabowo went on to win the quick count conducted by all surveys and called for unity as he pledged to be president for all Indonesians and will form a government that will be led by "the best sons and daughters of Indonesia." Despite this, he also told his supporters to calmly but cautiously wait for the official results from KPU. On 20 March 2024, the General Elections Commission (KPU) announced Prabowo's victory, having received over 96 million votes. Prabowo and his vice-presidential candidate, Gibran Rakabuming, they were sworn in on 20 October 2024. On 22 April 2024, the Constitutional Court rejected all legal challenges against the results of the presidential election, allowing the KPU to declare the Prabowo-Gibran tandem the winner.
Minister of Defence (2019–2024)
Appointment
On 23 October 2019, Prabowo was inaugurated as Indonesia's Minister of Defence by president Joko Widodo. He was aided by Sakti Wahyu Trenggono as Deputy Minister of Defence. According to Jokowi, Prabowo got the job because "Indeed, he has a lot of experience there." Jokowi clarified his decision to appoint Prabowo was to build "democracy based on mutual cooperation" and said it is for the good of the country, while Prabowo said he express his desire to serve and his decision to accept the appointment is to preserve national unity.
Military
Shortly after his inauguration, Prabowo began advocating for a "total people's war" doctrine for Indonesia's national defence. In realisation to this, he formed the Reserve Component on 7 October 2021 and appointed TV presenter Deddy Corbuzier as the reserve component ambassador to boost recruitment. Considering that some of the TNI's equipment is old, Prabowo has made efforts to continue modernising military capabilities. He believes that long-term planning, based on the assumption that the defence budget is fixed at 0.8% of Indonesia's GDP, will enable Indonesia to purchase the most advanced weapons and build a domestic defence industry. The plan, which emerged to the public not long after the sinking of the KRI Nanggala submarine, became a hot debate because the proposed figure reached Rp 1,700 trillion (Rp 1.7 quadrillion) or Rp 68 trillion per year. Prabowo utilised the certainty of the defence budget to acquire advanced weaponry that the TNI had never possessed. He plans to significantly expand Indonesia's domestic capacity to manufacture ammunition, as the country's current production capability is only 450 million rounds per year, despite an annual demand of one billion rounds. For the Indonesian Air Force, Prabowo is looking to strengthen Indonesia's military by acquiring newer fighter aircraft such as General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons and Dassault Rafales from the US and France while in the same time buying new transport aircraft such as Airbus A400M Atlas and newer Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules. For the Indonesian Navy, Prabowo signed contracts for newer surface combatants such as Arrowhead 140 and FREMM while exploring possible local production on the Scorpene class submarines under PAL Indonesia. He also ordered 500 Pindad Maung light utility vehicles in 2020. He also led renegotiation attempts regarding on the payment of the KAI KF-21 Boramae fighter program after his predecessor, Ryamizard Ryacudu stalled the payment of Indonesia's shares in the program. He later attended the launch of the aircraft prototype together with South Korean President Moon Jae-in representing Indonesia. On 20 April 2022, together with Minister of State Owned Enterprise Erick Thohir, Prabowo strengthened the Indonesian defence industry by consolidating PT Len, Pindad, PAL Indonesia, Indonesian Aerospace and PT Dahana into a single holding, Defend ID.
=== Food estate program === In 2020, Prabowo was appointed by Jokowi to spearhead the national food estate program. Jokowi's reasoning for Prabowo's appointment was that as Minister of Defence, Prabowo also plays important role on carrying out strategic projects such as food storage. The development of food barns in Central Kalimantan began in mid-2020, utilising existing rice fields covering an area of around 30,000 hectares, with 10,000 hectares located in Pulang Pisau Regency and 20,000 hectares in Kapuas Regency. In 2021, this project will be expanded to 44,135 hectares. Although Prabowo was selected as the project leader, he emphasise that the Ministry of Defence will only play a supporting role in the food estate work as the Minister of Agriculture will play the leading role, indicating that cross-sector collaboration is the key to the success of this project. This reflects the synergy between the agricultural and defence sectors in an effort to achieve sustainability and national food security.
