page_title: List of cults of personality
section_title: Indonesia
hierarchical_section_title: List of cults of personality / Indonesia
caption_attribution_description: English: Sukarno statue inside the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex
context_page_description: This is a list of regimes of countries or individual leaders around the world which have been discussed in the media or academia as having created a cult of personality. A cult of personality uses various techniques, including mass media, propaganda, the arts, patriotism, and government-organized demonstrations and rallies to create a heroic image, of a leader, often inviting worshipful behavior through uncritical flattery and praise.
context_section_description: During the Guided Democracy era, there was a personality cult around President Sukarno. He was made president for life by the MPRS in 1963. His ideological writings on Manipol-USDEK and NASAKOM became mandatory subjects in Indonesian schools and universities, while his speeches were to be memorized and discussed by all students. All newspapers, the only radio station (RRI, government-run), and the only television station (TVRI, also government-run) were made into "tools of the revolution" and functioned to spread Sukarno's messages. Sukarno developed a personality cult, with the capital of newly acquired West Irian renamed to Sukarnapura and the highest peak in the country was renamed from Carstensz Pyramid to Puntjak Sukarno (Sukarno Peak). The 1962 Asian Games Sports Complex was also renamed after him, as he was also the architect involved. He was featured in the obverse of some of the banknotes issued during his time in office.
  Sukarno was popularly referred to as bung ("comrade"), and he painted himself as a man of the people who carried the aspirations of Indonesia and dared to take on the West. Also, some other titles were given to him, like "Great Leader of the Revolution". When General Suharto gradually rose to power in 11 March 1966, Sukarno's cult, roles, and services were eradicated in a de-Sukarnoization policy.
  The New Order government created some propaganda, in which President Suharto is depicted as the "main hero" during the 1949 General Offensive, as well as during the 30 September Movement "Communist Rebellion" and its subsequent "communists cleansing". He was also granted the title of Bapak Pembangunan (Father of Development) in 1983. Several books praising him and his works were published during his 30 years as permanent president, such as the 6-book series of "Jejak Langkah Pak Harto" (Mr. Harto's Footsteps) by Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin (1991), "The Smiling General: President Soeharto of Indonesia" by an unknown German named Otto Gustav Roeder (1969) – who was thought to be a former Schutzstaffel member and spy stationed in Indonesia named Rudolf Oebsger-Röder – and his autobiography entitled "Pikiran, Ucapan, dan Tindakan Saya" (My Thoughts, Remarks, and Actions, 1989).
  In 1993, its central bank, Bank Indonesia, issued the first – and the then-highest valued – banknote of 50,000 rupiah. Its obverse pictured Suharto as the Father of Development and the slogan "25 Tahun Indonesia Membangun" (25 years of Indonesia's development), which dated back to his first term as president in 1968.
  In September 1998, four months after the Suharto's resignation, Information Minister Yunus Yosfiah – who was once his ally – declared that the Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI film would no longer be compulsory viewing material, reasoning that it was an attempt to manipulate history and create a cult with Suharto as the protagonist. The aforementioned sports complex name was restored in 2001.
caption: Sukarno statue inside the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex
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