President Prabowo Subianto inducted Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, a retired military lieutenant general, as Indonesia’s 27th defense minister at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Monday.
Prabowo earlier held the post in the government led by 7th president Joko Widodo.
Known to be Prabowo’s close peer, Sjamsoeddin was sworn in alongside 47 ministers and five ministerial-level presidential aides, such as State Intelligence Agency (BIN) head Muhammad Herindra and Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin, in the Red and White Cabinet.
As the seniormost minister in the Cabinet, the former soldier will now serve the nation by assisting his longtime friend and head of state.
It is inconceivable that President Prabowo would appoint just anyone as defense minister, who is considered a part of the state triumvirate alongside the foreign affairs and home affairs ministers.
The three ministers wield the authority to run the government in the event the president and vice president are unable to carry out their duties.
Prabowo is well aware that Sjamsoeddin is reliable and smart and his loyalty to the state and nation is beyond doubt.
Their friendship dates back to the time they spent together as cadets at the Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java. They both graduated in 1974, with Sjamsoeddin winning the best graduate award.
Sjamsoeddin's Instagram account @sjafrie_sjamsoeddin has several pictures of him and Prabowo from their military service.
In the caption of one picture, which shows them sitting next to each other as cadets, Sjamsoeddin wrote: “When we were living for a year at Pavilion 5A during our final year as military cadets before graduating as army commissioned officers in 1974.”
From military to govt responsibilities
Sjamsoeddin, who is known as Mr. SS by his subordinates and journalists, was born in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on October 30, 1952.
He is just one year younger than President Prabowo, who recently celebrated his 73rd birthday on October 17, 2024.
After completing their education at the Military Academy, Sjamsoeddin and Prabowo enlisted in the Indonesian Army’s Red Beret Corps, officially known as the Special Forces Command (Kopassus).
Under the command, the two took part in crucial operations, including in East Timor.
During his military journey, Sjamsoeddin led the forces tasked with thwarting rebels in East Timor, Aceh, and Irian Jaya (Papua).
He also served as Commander of Group A of the Presidential Security Guard (Paspampres) and was tasked with ensuring the security of the second president Soeharto, including during his presidential visit to war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995.
After several years of direct service under Soeharto, Sjamsoeddin continued to rise through the ranks of the military.
He was commander of the Surya Kencana Military Resort from 1995 to 1996 before becoming chief of staff of the Capital City Permanent Garrison in 1996, chief of staff of the Jaya Regional Command (Kodam) of Jakarta in 1996, and commander of Jaya Kodam in 1997.
At Jaya Kodam, he succeeded Sutiyoso as commander not long after Prabowo became the commander of the Kopassus.
Sjamsoeddin rose to the top spot at the Jakarta military command just one year prior to the fall of president Soeharto, which was preceded by waves of mass demonstrations, riots, and lootings.
Books and witnesses describe Sjamsoeddin as a military leader capable of placating tensions and preventing unrest during the period of turmoil.
At the time, he deployed soldiers to march across Jakarta to oversee security and also stationed them in vulnerable areas.
He even joined his subordinates during patrols to ensure that Jakarta remained safe and secure.
In the years following Soeharto's resignation on May 21, 1998, Sjamsoeddin held several positions, including territorial assistant of the chief of general staff of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), expert staff of the TNI commander, coordinator of expert staff of the TNI commander, and head of the TNI’s Information Center.
From 2005 until his retirement in 2010, he served as secretary general of the Department of Defense, which was transformed into the Ministry of Defense on November 6, 2008.
Shortly after retiring from the TNI, Sjamsoeddin was made the deputy minister of defense by the 6th president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. He held the post from 2010 to 2014.
From 2019 to 2024, he served as assistant for defense management to then-defense minister Prabowo.
While serving as Prabowo’s assistant, Sjamsoeddin finished his doctoral studies at the Defense University in 2023.
In his dissertation, entitled “The Development of Civilian-Military Cooperation Model in the Management of Indonesia’s Defense Policies,” he proposed the establishment of a national defense council.
Given Sjamsoeddin’s intensive experience in defense-related matters and reliable educational background, it is only natural for the Indonesian people to have high expectations from him as the new defense minister.
He is expected to come up with the breakthroughs needed to safeguard Indonesia’s territory and ensure that the country’s military power is respected at the regional and global levels.
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Translator: Genta Tenri, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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