Joko Widodo

Joko Widodo

Joko Widodo (born Mulyono, 21 June 1961), also known as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician who is the seventh president of Indonesia. Elected in July 2014 as the first president not to come from an elite political or military background, he was previously the Mayor of Surakarta from 2005 to 2012, and the Governor of Jakarta from 2012 to 2014. He achieved national prominence in 2009 for his work as the Mayor of Surakarta. A member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), he was its candidate for the 2012 Jakarta gubernatorial election, alongside Basuki Tjahaja Purnama (often known as Ahok) as his running mate. Defeating incumbent Fauzi Bowo, he took office in October 2012 and reinvigorated Jakarta politics, with publicised blusukan visits (unannounced spot checks) and improving the city's bureaucracy, reducing corruption in the process. He also introduced years-late programs to improve quality of life in the city, including universal healthcare, dredging the city's main river to reduce flooding, and inaugurating construction of the city's subway system.Seen as a rising star in Indonesian politics, PDI-P nominated Jokowi for the 2014 presidential election. Winning a majority of the popular vote, he was named president-elect on 22 July 2014, to bitter protest from his opponent Prabowo Subianto, who disputed the outcome and withdrew from the race before the count was completed. As president, Jokowi has primarily focused on infrastructure, introducing or restarting long-delayed programs to build highways, high-speed rail, airports and other facilities to improve connectivity in the Indonesian archipelago. On foreign policy, his administration has emphasised "protecting Indonesia’s sovereignty", with the sinking of illegal foreign fishing vessels and the prescription of capital punishment for drug smugglers, despite intense pressure from foreign powers including Australia and France. He ran for re-election in 2019, winning for a second time against Prabowo Subianto with 55.5% of the national vote.

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