Biography of B.J Habibie [] Indonesian President ( 21 May 1998 - 20 October 1999 )

Habibie was born in Parepare, South Sulawesi (Province) on June 25, 1936 to Abdul Jalil Habibie and R. A. Tuti Marini Puspowardojo. His father was an agriculturist from Gorontalo and his mother was a Javanese noble woman from Yogyakarta. His parents met while studying in Bogor. His father died when he was 14, and after his father's death, he travelled to Bandung to continue his studies. 1954, he started his Engineering study in Bandung Institute of Technology, West Java, Indonesia before he moved to the Technische Hochscule, Aachen, Germany in 1955 for further his studies.
He successfully obtained his Dipl.-Ing. with cum laude at the Department of Aircraft Design and Construction in 1960. After obtaining his degree, he remained in Germany as a research assistant for Hans Ebner at the Lehrstuhl und Institut für Leichtbau RWTH Aachen, while conducting research for his doctorate degree. He earned his Doctor Ingenieur with summa cum laude at the same institution in 1965.
Personal Life & his Career
In 1962, he travelled back to Indonesia for three months sick leave. During this time, he met Hasri Ainun, the daughter of R. Mohamad Besari. He and Ainun were childhood friends and knew each other since junior. They attended senior high school together at SMA-Kristen, Bandung (SMA-K Dago). They married on May 12, 1962 and went to Germany later that month.
They settled in Aachen for a short period before moving to Oberforstbach later that year. Habibie's minimum wage salary forced him to find a part time job. He chooses to work for Talbot where he worked as adviser, where he contributed to two projects funded by Deutsche Bundesbahn, dan Talbot won both. Due to his contribution to Makosh, the Head of Train Constructions offered his position to Habibie upon retirement 3 years later, but Habibie refused.
He started his real career in Germany Aircraft Industries by becoming the Head of Research and Development of Structure Analysis in the Hamburger Flugzeugbau Gmbh, Hamburg, Germany (1965-1969). Later, became the Vice President and Technology Director of MBB Gmbh, Hamburg and Munchen (1973-1978), and Technology Senior Advisor to the MBB Board of Directors (1978). While working in Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB), he conducted many research assignments, producing theories on thermodynamics, construction, and aerodynamics, known as the Habibie Factor, Habibie Theorem, and Habibie Method, respectively.
Back to Indonesia
Since his thesis about light construction in supersonic or even hypersonic, companies like Boeing and Airbus offered him to join their company, but he refused. BJ Habibie chooses going back to Indonesia.
When Habibie came back to Indonesia in 1974, he was made CEO of a new state owned enterprise called PT. Nurtanio. By the early 1980s it had grown considerably, specializing in making helicopters and small passenger planes. In 1995, he succeeded in flying an N-235, N- 250 (dubbed Gatotkoco) commuter plane. Even the Indonesian jet N-2130 was in his plan.
In developing Indonesia's Aviation Industry, he adopted an approach called "Begin at the End and End at the Beginning". In this method, things such as basic research became the last things that the workers at IPTN focused on, while actual manufacturing of the planes was placed as the first objective. In 1985, PT. Nurtanio changed its name to Indonesian Aviation Industry and is now known as Indonesian Aerospace Inc. (PT. Dirgantara Indonesia / PTDI).
Reform Era till now
In March 1998, after accepting and elected for a 7th term as President, Suharto announced BJ Habibie as Vice President. By May 1998, the increasing poverty caused by the Financial Crisis and political discontent had reached a boiling point. On May 13, the shooting of four students at Trisakti University in Jakarta, caused extreme anger which in turn caused widespread riots and lootings. There were now explicit calls for Suharto to step down as President of Indonesia. Suharto responded on May 21, 1998 he stepped down, the Vice President then become President. BJ Habibie became the 3rd President of the Republic of Indonesia.
Under his leadership, Indonesia succeeded not only in conducting the first free and fair General Elections in 1999 but also succeeded in bringing about significant changes towards democratizing and reforming Indonesia.
Habibie was married to Hasri Ainun Besari, a medical doctor, from 12 May 1962 until her death on 22 May 2010. The couple had two sons, Ilham Akbar Habibie and Thareq Kemal Habibie. BJ Habibie's brother, Junus Effendi Habibie, is the current Indonesian ambassador to the Netherlands.
Work B.J. Habibie:

Head of Research and Development of Structural Analysis in the company Hamburger Flugzeugbau Gmbh, Hamburg, Germany between the years 1965-1969.
Chief, Division of Methods and Technology on Commercial and Military Transport Aircraft MBB Gmbh, Hamburg and Munich between 1969-19973
Vice President and Director of Technology at MBB Gmbh, Hamburg and Munich in 1973- 1978
Senior Advisor to the Board of Directors Technology MBB 1978.
Return to Indonesia and Pertamina's Advanced Technology Division lead, which is the forerunner of BPPT, years 1974-1978.
Government of Indonesia in the Field Advisor Technology Development and Aircraft, responsible directly to the President of Indonesia Suharto in 1974-1978.
State Minister for Research and Technology (Research and Technology) and Chairman of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) in 1978-1998.
Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia on 11 March 1998-21 May 1998.
President of the Republic of Indonesia May on 21 1998-20 October 1999.

Organization:

Founder and Chairman of Advisory Board ICMI (Indonesia Intelectual Moslem Association)
Founder The Habibie Center Habibie Center (THC). The Habibie Center is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote the modernization and democratization, which is based on the morality and integrity of the cultural and religious values. Habibie Centre was established on 10 November 1998
InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government: The InterAction Council of Former Heads of State and Government is an independent international organization designed to bring together former world leaders to mobilize their energy, experience and international contacts in an effort to develop recommendations and foster co-operation and positive action around the world.
Founder and the 1st Chairman in 1997 IIFTIHAR (International Islamic Forum for Science, Technology and Human Resources Development).
Member of Rabhitah ‘Alam Islami since 2001, organisasi ini berkantor pusat di Mekkah, Arab Saudi.
Member of The National Academic of Engineering, Amerika Serikat.
Founder and member of Collegium International of Ethics, Scientific and Political Experts.

Noteble Awards:

May 14, 1980 - GRAN CRUZ DEL MERITO AERONAUTICO CONDISTINCTIVO BLANCO, The Royal Kingdom of Spain
November 11, 1980 - DAS GROSSE VERDENSTKREUZ MIT STERN UND SCHULTERBAND, FederalRepublic of Germany
December 1, 1980 - DAS GROSSE VERDIENSTKREUZ. State of Niedersachsen, Federal Republic of Germany
August 9, 1982 - DWIDYA SISTHA MEDAL, Department of Defence and Security of the Republic of Indonesia
August 17, 1982 - MAHAPUTRA ADIPRADANA MEDAL, Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia
October 29. 1982 - SCIENTIFIC AWARD, Department of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia
December 31, 1982 - THE MAN OF THE YEAR 1982, elected by Berita Buana Daily, Jakarta, Indonesia
May 25, 1983 - GROOTKRUIS IN DE ORDE VAN ORANJE-NASSAU, The Kingdom of Netherlands
January 2, 1984 - One of The 21 Significant Contributors to Aerospace in 1983, Nominated by the Editors of Aviation Week & Space Technology
October 3. 1985 - THE DECORATION OF GRAND CROSS OF THE AERONAUTICAL MERIT, Republic of Chile
January, 1986 - One of The 10 Prominent Figures in Aerospace in 1985 Nominated by The Aviation International News Magazine
April, 1986 - GRAND CORDON OF THE ORDER OF AL-ISTIQLAL (INDEPENDENCE), Kingdom of Hashemite Yordania
June 16, 1986 - CAVALIERE DI GRAN CROCE, Republic of Italy
April 24, 1987 - GRAND OFFICIER DE L'ORDRE NATIONAL DU MERITE, Republic of France
June, 1988 - LA GRAN CRUZ DE LA ORDEN DEL MERITO CIVIL, Royal Kingdom of Spain
April 10, 1991 - GRAND CROSS OF KING LEOPOLD II, Kingdom of Belgium
September 24, 1992 - THEODORE VON KARMAN AWARD, International Council of The Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) annual meeting of the 18th congress, Beijing. People's Republic of China
January, 1994 - THE MAN OF THE YEAR 1993, Elected by Forum Magazine, Jakarta, Republic of Indonesia
June 10, 1994 - The Highest Honors from The Government of Republic of China: THE ORDER OF BRILLIANT STAR WITH GRAND CORDON, Taipei, Republic of China
December 17, 1994 - EDWARD WARNER AWARD, Elected by Executive Board of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Meeting in Montreal, Canada

Source:

The Economist, November 21, 1998; November 28, 1998.
Wikipedia
Newsweek, June 1, 1998; January 25, 1999.
Philadelphia Inquirer, May 29, 1998.
Time, June 1, 1998.
Time International, August 3, 1998.
Makka, A. Makmur, B.J. Habibie: His Life and Career, http://habibie.ristek.go.id/english/ (March 25, 1999)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._J._Habibie
http://kepustakaan-presiden.pnri.go.id

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