Sukarno | president of Indonesia
Sukarno, also spelled Soekarno, (born June 6, 1901, Surabaja [now Surabaya], Java, Dutch East Indies—died June 21, 1970, Jakarta, Indonesia), leader of the Indonesian independence movement and Indonesia’s first president (1949–66), who suppressed the country’s original parliamentary system in favour of an authoritarian “Guided Democracy” and who attempted to balance the Communists against the army leaders. He was deposed in 1966 by the army under Suharto. Early life and education Sukarno was the only son of a poor Javanese schoolteacher, Raden Sukemi Sosrodihardjo, and his Balinese wife, Ida Njoman Rai. Originally named Kusnasosro, he was given a new and, it was hoped, more auspicious name, Sukarno, after a series of illnesses. Known to his childhood playmates as Djago (Cock, Champion) for his looks, spirits, and prowess, he was as an adult best known as Bung Karno ( bung, “brother” or “comrade”), the revolutionary hero and ar...