Sukarno, (born June 6, 1901, Surabaja, Java, Dutch East Indies—died June 21, 1970, Jakarta, Indon.), First president of Indonesia (1949–67). Son of a Javanese schoolteacher, he excelled in languages, mastering Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, and modern Indonesian, which he did much to create. He emerged as a charismatic leader in the country’s independence movement. When the Japanese invaded in 1942, he served them as a chief adviser, while pressuring them to grant Indonesia independence. Immediately following Japan’s defeat, he declared independence; the Dutch did not transfer sovereignty until 1949. Once he became president, Indonesia made gains in health, education, and cultural self-awareness, but democracy and the economy foundered. His government was corrupt, inflation soared, and the country experienced a continuous state of crisis. An attempted coup, purportedly by communists, in 1965 led to a military takeover by Suharto and a purge of alleged communists. Stripped of his power in 1966, Sukarno resigned in 1967 and lived under house arrest until his death.
Sukarno Article
Sukarno summary
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Sukarno.
president Summary
President, in government, the officer in whom the chief executive power of a nation is vested. The president of a republic is the head of state, but the actual power of the president varies from country to country; in the United States, Africa, and Latin America the presidential office is charged
nationalism Summary
Nationalism, ideology based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests. This article discusses the origins and history of nationalism to the 1980s. For later developments in the history of nationalism, see 20th-century
government Summary
Government, the political system by which a country or community is administered and regulated. Most of the key words commonly used to describe governments—words such as monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy—are of Greek or Roman origin. They have been current for more than 2,000 years and have not
Indonesia Summary
Indonesia, country located off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia in the Indian and Pacific oceans. The most populous country in Southeast Asia and the fourth most populous in the world, Indonesia is situated on an archipelago that lies across the Equator and spans a distance equivalent to