# Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana

Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana (née Hastuti; born 23 January 1949), popularly known as Tutut Suharto, is an Indonesian businesswoman and politician. She is the first child (and eldest daughter) of Suharto, the second president of Indonesia. She is a former Minister of Social Affairs and a former member of the People's Consultative Assembly, representing Golkar from 1992 to 1998.

## Early life

Tutut Suharto was born in Yogyakarta in 1949. She is the first child of Suharto and Siti Hartinah. At that time, her father was Commander of the Mataram Brigade (Wehrkreise III) in Yogyakarta with the rank of Lieutenant colonel. Tutut is also a descendant of Mangkunegara III from her mother's side.
The name Tutut comes from her childhood nickname. At first, she was often called Tuti (short for Hastuti), but sometimes she did not respond when called. Her father humoured her with the sound of a train: Tut tut tut, which successfully grabbed her attention and made her laugh. Gradually this nickname stuck, becoming Tutut.
It was characteristic of a military family’s life that three of Suharto's children, including Tutut, were born when he was on duty and away from his family. Tutut was born when Suharto was fighting in a guerrilla war outside of Yogyakarta. Her father did not see his first daughter for three months after her birth.
When her father was first inaugurated as president, Tutut's parents decided not to make Merdeka Palace their private residence. They moved instead from Jalan Haji Agus Salim (the street where they first lived in Jakarta) to Jalan Cendana in the suburb of Menteng. One of the main reasons for the move was security. There was a high-rise building behind the house in Haji Agus Salim. Merdeka Palace had not been Suharto’s choice because he wanted his children to have freedom. At that time, Tutut was 18 years old.

## Personal life

In 1972, Tutut married Indra Rukmana, son of businessman Edi Kowara Adiwinata. The wedding was held in Bogor Palace. The couple have 4 children together.

## Career
### Philanthropy & social activism

In 1986, she led the donations effort to flood victims in Padang Pariaman and Pasaman, West Sumatra. In 1988, she was elected chairperson of the Indonesian Association of Social Workers (Himpunan Pekerja Sosial Indonesia) for a 5 year term, and has been involved with the organization since its inception.
In 1994, she was elected chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross Society. She served as chairman from 1994 to 1999.
She is recently active in social activities under the Dharmais Foundation (Yayasan Dharmais). In 2019, the foundation organized a mass cataract operation for people living in underprivileged communities. Since its inception in 1976, the foundation has created a positive impact for 140,000 people.

### Business career

Tutut built part of her fortune as a major shareholder of the Citra Lamtoro Gung Group, with interests in more than 90 companies ranging from telecommunications to infrastructure, including tollway projects in Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines
In 1991 she was elected Chairman of the Advisory Board of HISPI (Himpunan Santri Pengusaha Indonesia/Indonesian Santri Entrepreneurs Association), an association for muslim entrepreneurs.

### Political career

Tutut served as deputy chairperson of Golkar from 1993–98. Following the death of her mother in 1996, she acted in the capacity of first lady of Indonesia in official ceremonies. In addition, Suharto appointed her as Social Affairs Minister in March 1998 in his final cabinet. During her time as Minister, she implemented a short-term free meal program where the government provided free meals to people who were laid off or experiencing food hardship. In addition, the Ministry of Social Affairs also developed a savings program (Takesra) and Business Credit program (Kukesra) for people who were recently unemployed.
Following her father's resignation as president in May 1998, Golkar in July announced it had recalled Tutut, her brothers Bambang Trihatmodjo and Hutomo 'Tommy' Mandala Putra and Bambang's wife Halimah from the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).
Golkar officials in 2008 said they would not object to Suharto's children, especially Tutut, rejoining the party's board. In addition, Golkar Deputy Secretary General Rully Chairul Anwar also noted that as of 2008 Tutut, Bambang Trihatmodjo and Titiek Suharto were still listed as Golkar members albeit as non-active members.
Tutut planned to run for the presidency in the 2004 presidential election on the ticket of the Concern for the Nation Functional Party (PKPB). However, since the party won only 2.1% of the popular vote in the 2004 general election (giving it just two seats in the House of Representatives), she was ineligible to run. At that time, political parties needed to receive at least 5% of the popular vote or 3% of seats in the DPR to field a presidential candidate. The election was ultimately won by former General Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, defeating incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri. In Indonesia's 2009 general election, PKPB won 1.4% of the popular vote, losing its two seats in the House of Representatives. In 2014, the party failed to qualify for the 2014 general election.

### Other activities

Tutut is known to be fond of writing songs and poems, which she has started doing since 1983. Some of her compositions uses the pseudonym "Diyanti R" (which is a shortened version of her name). This hobby was also strongly encouraged by her mother, Mrs Tien Soeharto. As of 2018, she has composed over 120 songs and poems.

## Honours

* Star of Mahaputera, 4th Class (Indonesian: Bintang Mahaputera Pratama) (11 August 1997)