ABSTRACT
Suharto, who, following Indonesian custom, only identified himself with a given name, was born in a poor farming village near Yogyakarta, Java, on June 8,1921. Between 1945 and 1949, Lieutenant-Colonel Suharto distinguished himself as a field commander, leading both regular and guerrilla attacks against the Dutch and their Indonesian supporters. When the Dutch granted Indonesia independence in 1949, which followed Indonesia's declaration of independence in 1945, Suharto continued his field command until he was made a staff officer in 1956. Between 1965 and 1995, Suharto made economic development Indonesia's top priority, using it as the excuse to limit political rights. Suharto contributed to the independence of Indonesia from the Dutch in 1945 and, from 1965 on, he imposed stability on an Indonesia almost shattered by President Sukarno's radical politics. Suharto achieved both independence and stability through a mixture of skill, careful political preparation, and elaborate rewards for those who worked with him.
