Prabowo Subianto

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.

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.

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.

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.

Defence Cooperation

In his first 100 days as Minister of Defence, Prabowo visited 8 countries to meet the Ministers of Defence of Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, China, Japan, the Philippines, and France to strengthen military relations.

Prabowo also made efforts to help state owned defence enterprises to export their products overseas. He succeeded in helping Indonesian Aerospace export CN-235 aircraft to Senegal and export NC-212i aircraft to Thailand, as well as helping PAL Indonesia export landing platform dock-type warships to the Philippine Navy.

In August 2024, Prabowo and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a new defence cooperation agreement to strengthen Australia–Indonesia security ties.

Following an incident in late 2019 where Chinese vessels violated the Indonesian EEZ off the Natuna Islands, Prabowo called for a cautious response, referring to China as a "friendly nation". He also ordered the deployment of additional navy vessels in the region in response to the incident. Despite the controversy of his inaction in Natuna Island in contrast to his fiery speeches about foreign powers during the 2019 elections, a poll by Indo Barometer on early January shows that Prabowo is the most popular minister in Jokowi's cabinet.

When asked about the situation on the South China Sea in a session at IISS Shangri-La Dialogue on 14 June 2022, Prabowo answered that Indonesia respects the interest of all countries that are involved in the region. He then quoted Nelson Mandela that "your enemies must not be our enemies too". In reaction to the formation of AUKUS and Australian plans to acquire nuclear submarines, Prabowo thinks that the alliance is made on basis of defence and it was beneath the sovereign rights of Australia, UK, and USA.

US Department of Defence said both Secretary Lloyd Austin and Minister Prabowo viewed China's aggression in the South China Sea as inconsistent to international law. This statement was then refuted by Spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry Wang Wenbin as a lie, claiming Prabowo never said that when Chinese embassy contacted the press office of the Ministry of Defence. Prabowo himself later refuted the US statement, stating there was no joint statement nor a press conference regarding to this matter and states that Indonesia is in good terms with China, US, and Russia and respects their interests, insisting Indonesia's non-aligned stances.

Education

One of Prabowo's first actions as Minister of Defence was to expand the field of study at the Indonesian Defence University. In Prabowo's directive, campus opened the Bachelor of Military Medicine and Bachelor of Science and Mathematics and Military Science study programs. He also waived tuition fees for distinguished cadets and ensure the welfare of students by providing laptop computers from campus. On 25 March 2022, Jokowi and Prabowo expanded the campus by opening a branch outside Sentul, West Java, namely Ben Mboi Polytechnic, in Belu, East Nusa Tenggara.

Prabowo also personally received 22 Palestinian students to be enrolled at campus on 8 November 2023 with a 5-year term study in medicine, pharmacy, and engineering. He gave them full scholarship and promised to enrol more Palestinian students into the university. According to Prabowo, their enrolment is a part of Indonesia's own commitment to aid Palestine in their efforts to be a recognised sovereign country.

Presidency (2024–present)

The Prabowo–Gibran ticket won the 2024 presidential election with 58.59% of the vote against two of their opponents, Anies–Muhaimin and Ganjar–Mahfud. On 20 October 2024, Prabowo assumed the presidency of Indonesia. At 73 years, three days of age on inauguration day, Prabowo is the oldest person to assume Indonesian presidency, while his counterpart, Gibran, is the youngest person to assume the Indonesian vice presidency at 37 years, 19 days of age.

Cabinet

On 21 October, Prabowo unveiled the largest ministerial cabinet in Indonesia since the Revised Dwikora Cabinet of President Sukarno in 1966, composed of 103 members including 48 ministers and 55 deputy ministers. Some ministers from the previous Onward Indonesia Cabinet such as Airlangga Hartarto, Sri Mulyani and Bahlil Lahadalia were retained as ministers in this cabinet. On 25 October, he held a military-style retreat for his cabinet at the Indonesian Military Academy in Magelang.

Prabowo has conducted three cabinet reshuffles. On 19 February 2025, Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology Satryo Brodjonegoro resigned and was replaced by Brian Yuliarto. Satryo Brodjonegoro resigned because he believed his performance during his four months in office had not met the Prabowo administration's expectations. Following August 2025 protests, Prabowo replaced five ministers on 8 September, including finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and security minister Budi Gunawan. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah was established as a separate ministry, assuming responsibility for the administration and management of Indonesia's Hajj pilgrimage. On 17 September, the president implemented cabinet reshuffle for the Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs and the Minister of Youth and Sports, replaced the Chief of Presidential Staff, the Head of Presidential Communication Office, the Deputy Heads of National Nutrition Agency, and three deputy ministers. The president also appointed the Police Commissioner General (Ret.) Ahmad Dofiri as the Special Advisor of the President for Security and Public Order and Police Reform.

Economy

Prabowo's economic policy claim to emulate his father's, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, who had a socialist economic outlook. This was further confirmed by his younger brother, Hashim that Prabowo's term as president will be the "right momentum" to apply his father's theories into practice and the proposed policies that will be enacted by Prabowo were the dreams hoped by their father that is soon to be realised. Among his father's economic policies, Prabowo is once seen to revive his father's Program Benteng policy, which was enacted during Mohammad Natsir's government that empowers indigenous business owners. His economic policies also draw inspiration from his father-in-law, Suharto, with Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto remarking that Suharto's economic policies on investments, spending and exports may be again enacted but unlike Suharto, Prabowo will be eyeing more towards digital economy, downstreaming and semiconductors.

Prabowo officially launched Indonesia's first-ever bullion bank service on 26 February 2025. For years, gold mined in Indonesia has often flowed overseas without proper domestic storage. With the launch of the bullion bank, Prabowo hopes to provide a more structured system for the storage, management, and trade of gold within the country.

In September 2025, Subianto and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney signed in Ottawa the first bilateral free trade agreement between Canada and an ASEAN member state.

Prabowo's economic policy declares a return to a national-capitalist model grounded in the belief that the liberal free-market era has failed to deliver equitable development. At the 2025 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum he asserted that "for the past 30 years, we have seen neoliberal and free-market thinking dominate … and yet many Indonesians have not enjoyed equal opportunity." Accordingly his administration pursues four strategic priorities such as food self-sufficiency, energy self-sufficiency, education quality improvement, and accelerated industrialisation, and mandates that natural-resource wealth must first benefit the people. In pursuit of those ends his government has launched large-scale populist spending programmes (such as the free nutritious meals scheme and rice-aid and electricity-discount policies) while simultaneously ordering a budget-efficiency sweep: a January 2025 presidential instruction cut Rp 306.6 trillion of spending to redirect funds into social programmes. To complement this, his government has shifted the revenue-mobilisation paradigm: the 2026 draft budget sets a growth target of 5.4% (with a long-term aspiration of 8%) and projects a deficit cap of ~2.5% of GDP, emphasising better tax-to-GDP ratio rather than raw debt expansion.

Defence

During the 2024 election, Prabowo proposed several policies in regards to the defence budget, defence industry, strengthening the Reserve Component, increased TNI presence in the border, synergy within defence institutions against separatism, and increased competency in defence technology and professionalism. His policies enacted as Minister of Defence is then continued by Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin. Prabowo's modernisation programs on the armed forces from his days as Minister of Defence largely continued under his presidency.

Prabowo has stated his interest to join TAI TF Kaan project in a meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his state visit in Turkey. From the bilateral visit, the two countries agreed to set up joint ventures between strategic defence companies from both countries, aiming to contribute in Indonesia's development of fifth-generation fighters and submarine shipbuilding.

During the bilateral meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron, Prabowo and Macron witnessed as their respective defence ministers Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Sébastien Lecornu signed a letter of intent for a few military hardware, which includes additional CAESAR self-propelled howitzer, Scorpène-class submarines, light frigates and finally an additional order of 12 Dassault Rafale following up the 42 Rafales ordered when Prabowo was defence minister. The purchase of additional Rafales became noteworthy considering rumours spread that Indonesia may ditch the entire order and replace it with Chengdu J-10 of the same quantity after Pakistan Air Force has shot down one of Indian Air Force Rafales during Operation Sindhoor. Minister Lecornu in Twitter hailed the agreement as a sign of Indonesia's trust on the French defence industry.

In March 2025, it was stated that the Indonesian Navy was interested in acquiring the Giuseppe Garibaldi aircraft carrier from Italy, along with her airwing of Harrier II jets. Fincantieri presented a proposal to the Indonesian Navy in July 2025 to convert Giuseppe Garibaldi into a helicopter and UAV assault ship. On 13 February 2026, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense announced that Italy had agreed in principle to transfer the Giuseppe Garibaldi to Indonesia as a grant, making it the country's first aircraft carrier. Although the ship itself would be provided free of charge, Indonesia committed to funding its retrofit and technological modifications to meet Indonesian Navy operational requirements. Admiral Muhammad Ali stated that the vessel was expected to arrive before the anniversary of the Indonesian National Armed Forces on 5 October 2026, subject to the completion of negotiations and administrative procedures. According to the Ministry of Defense, the ship will be employed primarily for military operations other than war, particularly humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Foreign policy

Prabowo continued the foreign policy of "thousand friends and zero enemies" enacted by his predecessors Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo with a slightly more active role. In early 2025, Indonesia officially became a member of BRICS. Indonesia's membership in BRICS will strengthen Indonesia's position in the global political arena. In a press statement, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs viewed BRICS membership as a strategic step to enhance collaboration and cooperation with other developing countries, based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and sustainable development.

Under his administration, he attempted to widen the definition of Indonesia's "free and active" foreign policy through political and economic pragmatism as well as regional stability. He modelled his foreign policy from the words of Mohammad Hatta as "sailing between two reefs." Compared to Jokowi, Prabowo is seen as a much more aggressive, aspirational, and decisive diplomat. Former President Yudhoyono remarked that Prabowo will be a "foreign policy president."

He was the first president-elect in Indonesia's history to conduct foreign visits prior to his inauguration, visiting 20 countries.

Prabowo is the president with the highest number of foreign trips in Indonesian history, visiting 35 countries and traveled abroad each month except for February and March in 2025; he was out of the country for 95 days between November 2024 to April 2026. He defended his numerous international visits, stating that they are essential for securing Indonesia's oil supply amid the 2026 Iran war and claiming that these trips have yielded positive outcomes for the country.

Several months after his inauguration, President Prabowo visited the United States in November 2024. Then, in February 2026, President Prabowo made another overseas visit to the United States to meet with President Trump. During the visit, President Prabowo had several important agendas, including attending the Board of Peace consultation meeting and trade negotiations with the US. President Prabowo sought to highlight Indonesia's multilateral and bilateral cooperation during the visit. He also met with all former Indonesian foreign ministers to discuss strategic plans for negotiations with the US. He had prepared well in advance for these negotiations.

Social

His campaign team introduced a goal of a free school school lunch program by distributing free milk and lunch meals. After Prabowo was declared as president-elect, pilot program of the policy was enacted. Prabowo said that he wanted to enact this because he saw nearly 25% of Indonesian children skip their breakfast and he wanted to know if the program could succeed by conducting pilot programs. On 24 May 2024, he changed the program into free nutritious meal program. Overall, this program is designed with the aim of building superior resources, reducing stunting and poverty rates while driving the economy. This program is also one of Prabowo's key policies in realising the Golden Indonesia 2045 Vision that targets the creation of a golden generation by utilising demographic dividends that can launch Indonesia into a developed country.

The program was officially rolled out since 6 January 2025 in 26 provinces of Indonesia, carried out by the National Nutrition Agency, and targeting children from preschool to secondary school students, as well as pregnant and nursing mothers with the aim of able to bring benefit to at least 82,9 million beneficiaries. However, the effectiveness of this policy was repeatedly questioned. With a huge budget needed to execute the program, the program may risk cutting the budget of other social programs and caused economic instability. In addition, the program has been marked by repeated cases of food poisoning; by 15 August 2025, over 1,000 people had been sickened.

On 10 February 2025, Prabowo's government enacted a free health check service with aims to improve the quality of life of the population through the use of SatuSehat app launched by the Ministry of Health. The government aimed to decrease mortality rate caused by disease that can be avoided through preventive healthcare such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and tuberculosis.

New capital

Construction of Nusantara under Prabowo's presidency continued despite no longer be considered as priority due to reallocation of other policies such as the free meal program.

On 21 September 2025, Prabowo signed a presidential decree that officially made Nusantara as the political capital city of Indonesia and targeted for its realisation to be implemented in 2028. However, this decree was met with suspicion as the decree only mandated for the House of Representatives and Regional Representative Council to move to Nusantara, while analysts criticise the lack of seriousness to relocate away from Jakarta.

Political views

Prabowo Subianto said in his November 2023 speech at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) think thank that Indonesia needs a middle way between capitalism and socialism, which would be a Pancasila economy how the third president of Indonesia B.J. Habibie wanted. Besides his own variant of a Third Way, he advocates for anti-neoliberalism. In foreign policy, Prabowo has expressed a desire for closer diplomatic ties with China and India, while calling for distance from the West. In June 2023, during his tenure as defence minister, Prabowo proposed a peace plan to end the Russo-Ukrainian War, involving holding referendums in disputed areas between the two countries, which was subsequently condemned by Ukraine for appearing pro-Russia. Then-president Jokowi later clarified that Prabowo's suggestion was his personal viewpoint and did not reflect the official position of the Indonesian government. In January 2022, Prabowo expressed openness to the normalisation of Indonesia–Israel relations.

Controversies

Internal army dispute

In 1983, according to Sintong Panjaitan, Prabowo had a dispute with a few generals who plotted to overthrow Suharto to the point that he plotted to use Detachment 81 to attempt kidnapping these generals, including General L. B. Moerdani who was rumoured to be plotting a coup against Suharto. However, his plot was stopped by Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the commander of Detachment 81. Prabowo was his deputy commander at that time. Major Luhut Pandjaitan ordered to cancel the attempt and confiscate all weapons and equipment. The threat of a coup against Suharto was later found to be false and Prabowo was given a leave due to stress. However, Prabowo denied Sintong Panjaitan's version of the story by laughing. According to him, it was unreasonable that a captain could lead his troops to fight and kidnap a general. He calmly said that every time there was a new book, there would be a new coup accusation levelled against himself, and left everyone with their own version of the story.

Prabowo was once again involved in a dispute with Moerdani ahead of the 1988 MPR General Assembly. According to Kivlan Zen, rumours persisted that Moerdani would use his office of commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces to gain support from the ABRI faction to run as vice president to Suharto. Prabowo reported this to Suharto and Suharto heeded Prabowo's report by replacing Moerdani with Try Sutrisno as commander of the armed forces. The position of vice president then fell to Sudharmono. Moerdani's dismissal sparked worries of a coup, however the coup never really happened. Despite this, it showed Prabowo's rising influence in the armed forces and on Suharto's decision making.

Occupation of East Timor

In 1983, it was claimed that Prabowo commanded the Indonesian 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. José 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, but they could not provide any eyewitness reports, transcripts of intercepted communications, leaked papers, or anything that could substantiate Prabowo's involvement.

Kidnapping of activists

Between 1997 and 1998, Kopassus members from Team Mawar (Rose Team) were responsible for pro-democracy activists kidnappings of at least 22 people mainly in Jakarta. Nine activists were released and 13 remain missing. In 1999, 11 members of Tim Mawar were found guilty by a military court. However, they appealed the verdict to the Supreme Court, which was not made public and only revealed in 2007, and were never jailed and all but one remained in the military. In September 2020, Defence Minister Prabowo appointed two of the Team Mawar officers, two serving brigadier generals, to senior positions in the Ministry of Defence following approval by President Joko Widodo. Amnesty International criticised the appointments as the President and the DPR had promised to investigate missing activist cases and instead placed suspects in positions of power. and shortly after Prabowo was inaugurated as president two more members of the Team Mawar became heads of the National Cyber and Crypto Agency and the Main Secretariat of the State Intelligence Agency.

Paradise Papers

In November 2017, an investigation conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism cited his name in the list of politicians named in "Paradise Papers" allegations.

Mirage 2000 purchase

On 13 February 2024, the Corruption Eradication Commission had received a report of alleged corruption conducted by Prabowo in the purchase of ex-Qatar Emiri Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000-5 jet aircraft which was cancelled by the Ministry of Defence due to fiscal limitations. Allegedly, the purchased aircraft will be bought at a much higher price and there are gratification involved. Deputy Minister of Defence Muhammad Herindra denied the allegations, dismissing the rumours as slanderous allegations and fake news. In response, the Ministry of Defence appointed lawyer Hotman Paris Hutapea to lead the defence. Despite being mentioned in a report that allegedly uncovered the corruption, Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) stated it had "never have done any work related to Indonesia."

Political gaffes

On 18 September 2017, at the launch of a book on his father's political economy theory, Prabowo made a speech warning Indonesia could break apart in 2030. "In other countries, they have made studies, where the Republic of Indonesia has been declared no more in 2030," he said. A video clip of the speech was posted to Gerindra's official Facebook page on 18 March 2018. When asked which studies Prabowo was referring to, Gerindra official M. Husein Mohi said, "Prabowo Subianto has read various writings of people that are outside the country, intellectual observers that exist. You can also see them online." It was subsequently revealed the "studies" were actually a 2015 science-fiction war novel called Ghost Fleet by US authors August Cole and P. W. Singer. A note by the authors at the start of the book states: "The following was inspired by real-world trends and technologies. But, ultimately, it is a work of fiction, not prediction." Bemused by Prabowo citing the book, Singer posted on Twitter: "Indonesian opposition leader cites #GhostFleet in fiery campaign speeches... There have been many unexpected twists and turns from this book experience, but this may take the cake."

In November 2018, he was embroiled in controversy for a part of his campaign in Boyolali mentioning the appearance of people in Boyolali, Central Java. After mentioning names of various luxury hotels in Jakarta whose name he claimed the rally can never pronounce, he said, "..but I am sure you have not entered these hotels. If you want to enter them you might be kicked out. You don't look like wealthy people, you have a Boyolali look." This has led to several Boyolali polling stations for 2019 election not voting him at all. Prabowo lost the regency again in 2024 election in spite of overall win in Central Java province. The next month, Prabowo was ridiculed after erroneously stating that Haiti, a republic in the Caribbean, is an African country. In a speech made on 23 December 2018 in Solo, Central Java, Prabowo said the Indonesian government had driven part of Indonesia's wealth offshore. "If this continues to go on, Indonesia will continue to be impoverished," he said. "We, Indonesians, are on par with African impoverished countries such as Rwanda, Haiti, and small islands like Kiribati, which we don't even know where it's located," he added. On 17 January 2019, in the first debate between the candidates in Indonesia's April 2019 presidential election, Prabowo said some Indonesian governors deserve higher salaries considering the size of their provinces. He gave the example of Central Java province, which he claimed is larger than Malaysia. Local media reports pointed out that Central Java is 32,544.12 square kilometres, while Malaysia is 330,323 square kilometres. After the media reported on the error, Prabowo's campaign team claimed he had actually been referring to the population totals of Malaysia and Central Java. In the same debate, Prabowo claimed that terrorist attacks in Indonesia were caused by poverty and perpetrated by non-Muslims disguised as Muslims, sent by other countries and controlled by foreigners. Media reports refuted his claims, pointing out that some Indonesian terrorist bombers were not poor and were not manipulated by foreigners.

Political endorsement

During the 2024 Central Java gubernatorial election, Prabowo gave his public endorsement of support to Ahmad Luthfi and Taj Yasin Maimoen through a video uploaded in Taj Yasin's Instagram account. His endorsement was slammed by the PDI-P, and Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly Bambang Wuryanto called the endorsement as "worrying" and reminded Prabowo that he is the president, not just a party leader. Many has also questioned the ethics behind the endorsement as legal experts believed that the president of Indonesia must not meddle around with legal institutions in favour of a candidate and General Election Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) announced that they will investigate the video for any offences. However, Prabowo's endorsement was also defended as NasDem politician Muhammad Rifqinizamy Karsayuda and Head of Presidential Communication Office Hasan Nasbi said that Prabowo spoke as a party chairman and there is no restrictions on presidents being a chairman of their own parties while Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Budi Gunawan states that Prabowo's endorsement is a "normal matter" in democracies. Bawaslu found that although the video featuring him did show political campaign message, their investigation result shows that he did not commit any offences because the video was posted within the social media campaign period between 25 September to 23 November, and Prabowo is allowed to campaign for his endorsed candidates as long as either he took his time off from the office or he done it on a holiday, which in Taj Yasin's clarification to Bawaslu states that the video was created on Sunday, 3 November 2024.

Allegations of authoritarianism

As a president elected in 2024 and being Suharto's son-in-law, Prabowo's leadership style was criticised for his authoritarian style of rule and allegedly revived the practice of Dwifungsi, where active military personnel can concurrently serve in the civilian government while maintaining military command. His background as a military commander rises when Dwifungsi was at its peak of power. The Reformasi that has sought to limit the influence of the military in civilian government has its values now threatened by moves to again empower the military, such as the revision of the Law No. 34 Year 2004.

During his time as defence minister under Joko Widodo, Prabowo is considered to have restored the role of the military in many aspects of civilian life. He was known to involve the military in government programs such as the free meal program, food estate, and many other roles that is supposed to be done by the civilian sector. Few of his cabinet ministers also have military roles, which further strengthens the perception that the direction of government tends to revive New Order-style practices. His most controversial appointment in his cabinet however is when he appointed Teddy Indra Wijaya who was still active in the military to be his cabinet secretary, which generate criticism from academicians and legal experts saying Prabowo has violated the Law No. 34 Year 2004 Article 47 which states that active service members of the Indonesian National Armed Forces must resign or retire from military life if appointed or given a civilian role.

Personal life

Prabowo married Titiek Suharto on 8 May 1983. Titiek is the daughter of Indonesian President Suharto, but the couple separated shortly after Suharto's presidency ended in 1998. Prabowo saw himself as a potential successor to Suharto and remained a strong supporter of the regime. Prabowo and Titiek have one son together, fashion designer Ragowo Hediprasetyo (Didit), who was born in March 1984.

Prabowo is a cat lover and owns a cat named Bobby Kertanegara. Bobby was a stray who was adopted by Prabowo from the streets after a chance meeting, and he often showed up in meetings that Prabowo attended in his residence at Kertanegara. It was revealed later in a small talk with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner that he has 8 cats. Aside from cats, he also owns 18 horses in his hill estate in Jonggol Mountains, Bojong Koneng, Bogor Regency (southeast of Sentul City), and he often invited guests to ride one of his horses, especially when Jokowi and Gibran visited. He had once brought his horse to campaign rallies especially in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Because of his hobby of raising horses, Prabowo is known to support equestrian sports as the Equestrian Association of Indonesia once received 28 horses from Prabowo's personal wealth to support the national team in preparation for the 2025 SEA Games while being given a medal target for polo directly from the president. In a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney, Prabowo expressed that he dreamed to become a Mountie during his youth.

Prabowo usually wears khaki clothes with many pockets. He himself stated that he liked this suit for practical reasons. Prabowo started wearing it frequently when he was paired with Megawati in the 2009 presidential election.

In addition to Indonesian, Prabowo speaks the Banyumasan dialect of Javanese, his father's mother tongue, and is fluent in English, Dutch, French, and German. He also has limited proficiency in Arabic, which he learned during his time in Jordan.

Religion

In an interview in 2018, Prabowo stated that he was a Muslim who adhered to nationalist views. He added that he had insufficient knowledge about Islam. Prabowo has stated that he could not read the Quran fluently.

Prabowo said that he was not born into a family steeped in Islamic teachings but grew up with his colleagues who were members of various Islamic community organisations.

On 13 May 2023, Prabowo stated that he was proud to adhere to Islam, which he considers to be the pioneer in many scientific and technological breakthroughs around the world. On 19 November, he stated that he felt comfortable with adhering to Islamic beliefs from the teachings of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) because he believed that the latter advocated for a form of Islam that is tolerant, protective of society, and moderate.

Health

On 30 June 2024, Prabowo announced that he was undergoing a surgery on his left foot via his Instagram account. In his post, he explained that he had injured his left foot twice. He first injured it when he was participating in a paratrooping exercise in West Germany while he was training with GSG 9. Additionally, he experienced another foot injury when he fell down from a cliff in a combat zone in the 1980s. Prabowo, who was 30 at the time of the accident, did not experience further issues until his 2024 campaign, when he was seen walking on a limp on his left foot. This prompted rival supporters to mock his physique. Prabowo underwent a successful surgery on his left foot a week later at the National Defence Central Hospital.

Honours

National honours

Prabowo is automatically awarded the highest class of all civilian and military star decorations upon taking office as president, but he had already received several of these awards —and other awards— while serving as minister of defence.

Star of the Republic of Indonesia, 1st Class – 2024

Star of Mahaputera, 1st Class – 2024

Star of Mahaputera, 2nd Class – 2024

Star of Merit, 1st Class – 2024

Star of Humanity – 2024

Star of Democracy Upholder, 1st Class – 2024

Star of Budaya Parama Dharma – 2024

Star of Bhayangkara, 1st Class – 2024

Guerilla Star – 2024

Sacred Star – 2024

Star of Dharma – 2024

Star of Yudha Dharma, 1st Class – 2022

Star of Kartika Eka Paksi, 1st Class – 2022

Star of Jalasena, 1st Class – 2022

Star of Swa Bhuwana Paksa, 1st Class – 2022

Star of Peace Veteran – 2023

In addition, Prabowo has also received the others awards while serving as an Indonesian Army officer:

Star of Kartika Eka Paksi, 2nd Class

Other honours

On 17 June 2009, Prabowo was declared a member of the Lumban Tobing clan of the Toba Batak people. The clan awarding was facilitated by the Punguan Siraja Lumban Tobing Association (PPSLB) and took place at the Lake Toba Convention Center, Medan.

On 28 December 2011, Prabowo received the traditional title of Tongkonan from the indigenous people of Siguntu village, Rantepao, North Toraja. The presentation of the traditional title which was accompanied by the Rambu Solo' mourning ceremony was witnessed by the Governor of South Sulawesi Syahrul Yasin Limpo, Deputy Governor of South Sulawesi Agus Arifin Nu'mang, Commander of Kodam VII/Wirabuana Major General Muhammad Nizam, Regent of Tanah Toraja Theofilus Allorerung, Regent of North Toraja Frederik Batti Sorring, along with thousands of local residents.

He also received the title of Friend of Indonesian Santri from the Zainul Hasan Genggong Islamic Boarding School, Probolinggo, on 2 January 2024.

On 28 February 2024, Prabowo was awarded an honorary four-star general rank by President Joko Widodo.

In November 2024, Ukrposhta, Ukraine's national postal service, issued a limited-edition stamp honouring Prabowo. The initiative was spearheaded by the Ukrainian Initiative, an NGO led by Indonesianist Yurii Kosenko, who described the stamp as both a tribute to Prabowo and a symbol of Indonesia-Ukraine friendship.