Sarwo Edhie Wibowo

Sarwo Edhie was married to Sunarti Sri Hadiyah, with whom he had seven children. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is his son-in-law, who was married to Sarwo Edhie's daughter Kristiani "Ani" Herawati until her death in June 2019.

Sarwo Edhie died on 9 November 1989 from high fever he had for a long time. He was buried in his native region Ngupasan, Pangenjurutengah in Purworejo, Central Java. In 2015, he was declared a "national hero" by Indonesia's national government. The announcement was controversial with the Indonesian public given Sarwo's role in the 1965 - 1967 bloody coup.

When Suharto established Pancasila as the National Ideology in 1984, Sarwo Edhie was put in charge of the indoctrination process by being appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Body for Implementation of Guidance for Comprehension and Practice of Pancasila (BP-7) He was elected to the People's Representative Council (DPR) in 1987 and resigned his position in 1988 in protest of Sudharmono's nomination to the Vice Presidency.

The final straw came in 1970, when Sarwo Edhie made allegations of Government corruption in 1970. From that point on, Sarwo Edhie was given positions that still held stature but kept him away from the politics of the Central Government in Jakarta. Sarwo Edhie then served as ABRI Academy (AKABRI) Governor (1970–1973), Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea (1973–1978), and Inspector General of the Department of Foreign Affairs (1978–1983).

In 1967, Sarwo Edhie was transferred to Sumatra and was made Commander of Kodam II/Bukit Barisan, ending his years as Commander of the RPKAD. In Sumatra, Sarwo Edhie further weakened Sukarno's powers by banning his Indonesian National Party (PNI) throughout the island.

By the beginning of 1966, anti-Communist sentiments combined with the high rate of inflation caused Sukarno to begin losing his popularity in the eyes of the Indonesian people. There were now anti-Sukarno protests, led by youth movements such as the Indonesian Student Action Front (KAMI). In a Bandung rally held on 10 January 1966, KAMI issued to Sukarno and the PPCA its Three Demands of the People. They wanted the PKI to be banned, for PKI sympathizers within the Cabinet to be arrested, and for the prices to be lowered.

Suharto realized the importance in aligning the Army with the protesters. During the first months of 1966, Sarwo Edhie together with Kostrad Chief of Staff, Kemal Idris actively organized and supported the protests whilst making a name for themselves among the KAMI protesters in the process. On 26 February 1966, KAMI was officially banned by Sukarno but with the encouragement of Sarwo Edhie and Kemal continued to protest. In a show of solidarity with the students, Sarwo Edhie enlisted at the University of Indonesia.

Although he was growing to be Sukarno's biggest political opponent, Suharto, a strong Javanese traditionalist, was always careful to avoid challenging Sukarno directly. By March 1966 however, he was ready to force Sukarno's hand. At the beginning of the month, he ordered the RPKAD to arrest PKI sympathizers within Sukarno's Revised Dwikora Cabinet. Suharto changed his mind at the very last minute, thinking that Sukarno's security might be compromised. However, it was too late to withdraw the orders.

On the morning of 11 March 1966, during a Cabinet meeting in which Suharto was absent, Sarwo Edhie and his troops surrounded the Presidential Palace without any identification. Sukarno, fearing for his life evacuated to Bogor. Later in the day he would transfer executive powers to Suharto through a letter called Supersemar.

During the morning of 1 October 1965, six Army generals, including Ahmad Yani were kidnapped from their houses and taken to the Indonesian Air Force's Halim Airbase. Whilst this kidnapping process was being executed, a group of unidentified troops occupied the National Monument (Monas), the Presidential Palace, the Republic of Indonesia Radio (RRI), and the telecommunications building.

On 4 October 1965, Sarwo Edhie's troops would preside over the exhumation of the dead bodies of the Generals from the Lubang Buaya well.

On 16 October 1965, Suharto was appointed Commander of the Army by Sukarno. By then, the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) had been accused as the culprits of the G30S and anti-Communist sentiments had built up sufficiently to gain momentum. Sarwo Edhie was given the task of eliminating PKI members in the Communist hotbeds in Central Java.

There were numerous estimates as to the number of people killed during these months. Early estimates number between half a million at the very least and a million at the most. In December 1965, the number given to Sukarno was 78,000 although after he fell, it was revised to 780,000. The 78,000 was a ploy to hide the number of people killed from Sukarno. Speculations continued throughout the years, ranging from 60,000 to 1,000,000. Although the consensus seemed to have settled around 400,000. Finally, in 1989, before his death, Sarwo Edhie admitted to People's Representative Council (DPR) member that 3 million were killed in the bloodbath.

The RPKAD was the Indonesian government's attempt at creating a special forces unit (it would go on to become Kopassus) and Sarwo Edhie's appointment as the elite unit's commander was thanks in no small part to Yani. By 1964, Yani had risen to become the army commander and wanted someone who he could trust as commander of RPKAD.

After the Indonesian Declaration of Independence on 17 August 1945, Sarwo Edhie joined the BKR, a militia organization who would become the precursor of TNI (the present Indonesian Army) and formed a battalion. However, the venture failed and the battalion disbanded. It was his hometown compatriot, Ahmad Yani who encouraged him to continue being a soldier and invited him to join a battalion at Magelang in Central Java.

Sarwo Edhie's career in the military saw him serve as battalion commander in the Diponegoro Division (1945–1951), then regimental commander (1951–1953), deputy regimental commander of the National Military Academy (1959–1961), chief of staff of the army Paracommando Regiment (RPKAD) (1962–1964), and commander of RPKAD (1964–1967).

In 1942, when the Japanese took control of Indonesia, Sarwo Edhie went to Surabaya to enlist with the Defenders of the Motherland Army (PETA), which was a Japanese-run auxiliary force consisting of Indonesian soldiers.

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Sarwo Edhie Wibowo (25 July 1925 – 9 November 1989) was an Indonesian military leader and the father of Kristiani Herrawati, the former first lady of Indonesia and the wife of president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and also the father of Chief of Staff Pramono Edhie Wibowo. As an army colonel he played a direct role (with irregular commanders Anwar Congo, Adi Zulkadry, Safit Pardede, Kopkamtib, Pangdam) in directing troops during the Indonesian killings of 1965–66, in which more than half a million Indonesian civilians died. With Suharto's blessing, Wibowo initiated the slaughter[1]. Later, he served as Chairman of the BP-7 center, as Indonesia's ambassador for South Korea and as governor of the Indonesian Military academy.